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Movie Buses for the Bus Museum (by Larry Plachno) . . . . .
We take a look into the almost hidden world of movie buses. Tom McCaughey donates his group of movie buses to the bus museum and then graciously moved them from his base to the museum in Hershey, Pennsylvania. He has also offered to help the museum with movie work in the future.
MCI Celebrates 90 Years –Part Two (by Larry Plachno) . . . . .
This is part two of our three-part 90-year history of Motor Coach Industries. We start in the early 1970s, go through the end of the numbered models and start of the alphabet models, look at facility changes and improvements, note the RTS era, talk about the arrival of the 45-foot coaches and end up with leaving Greyhound and the connection with Dina in Mexico.
Who Knew Memory Lane Would be 5,600 Miles? (by Dave Millhouser) . . . . . . . . . .
Our bus industry pundit retraces an early trip that got him hooked on the bus industry. Along the way he mentions several things including driving Brills, scenery in the western states and big hamburgers.
Shortly after the redesigned Prevost H34 5 w a s u n v e i l e d , i t s t a r t e d t o a p p e a r o n roads across the countr y In late Januar y, Village Travel was the very first tour operator i n t h e U n i t e d S t a t e s t o t a k e d e l i v e r y o f a n
updated H3-45
“ W e ’ v e o w n e d s e v e r a l H 3 - 4 5 s s i n c e 1997 We heard the new H3-45 was coming and placed an order in advance because w e ’ r e c o n fi d e n t w h e n P r e v o s t m a k e s changes they’re going to be positive,” said Jeff Arensdor f, owner of Village Travel
Vi l l a g e Tr a v e l i s a f a m i l y - o w n e d b u s in e s s b a s e d i n W i c h i t a , K a n s a s , t h a t h a s s e v e n l o c a t i o n s , m o re t h a n 1 6 0 c o a c h e s a n d 4 4 9 e m p l o y e e s L e d b y A r e n s d o r f , t h e c o m p a n y s e r v e s t h e c h a r t e r, g r o u p t o u r a n d e n t e r t a i n e r m a r k e t s a n d a l s o operates a full-line travel agency In 2002, w i t h o ff i c e s t h ro u g h o u t t h e M i d w e s t , Vi ll a g e r e c o r d e d 9 2 m i l l i o n m i l e s d r i v e n , 1 0 , 8 0 5 c h a r t e r g ro u p s s e r v e d a n d 6 , 2 9 5 t o u r p a s s e n g e r s h o s t e d
In the coming months, Village is scheduled to receive 11 more of the next generation H3-45s to add to its fleet
“ T h e P r e v o s t c o a c h e s a r e w e l l e n g ineered and the Volvo engine is reliable and
has the torque and power we’re looking for,” said Arensdorf “We are in the middle of the c o u n t r y s o o u r s e a t e d c o a c h e s g o a l o n g way Because we travel almost everywhere –f ro m C a n a d a t o N e w Yo r k t o L a s Ve g a s –reliability and service are extremely important to us ”
As each H3-45 arrives, Village applies its signature branding and introduces its driv e r s t o t h e m o t o rc o a c h T h a t i s i m p o r t a n t because Prevost made substantial changes to the driver area, including an intuitive dash with automotive-styling, a full-color digital a n d a n a l o g i n s t r u m e n t c l u s t e r a n d p u s hbutton star t
“ I t d r i v e s a l m o s t l i k e a f i n e a u t o m o b i l e T h e m i r ro r s a re l a r g e r a n d t h e d a s h b o a rd i s m u c h e a s i e r t o r e a d T h e i n f o r m a t i o n s c r e e n i s v e r y e a s y t o n a v i g a t e a n d t o l e a r n , ” s a i d R a l p h M c K a y, a d r i v e r w h o h a s b e e n w i t h Vi l l a g e Tr a v e l f o r 1 4 y e a r s “ I n K a n s a s , w e d r i v e i n v e r y w i n d y c o n d it i o n s I ’ v e a l w a y s l i k e d t h e w a y P re v o s t s h a n d l e i n t h e w i n d , b u t t h e H 3 - 4 5 i s t h e c re a m o f t h e c ro p Yo u c a n ’t e v e n f e e l t h e w i n d ”
A n o t h e r c h a n g e i s m o r e a p p a r e n t upfront For easier boarding, the entrance has been enlarged, there is now 300 percent more lighting and an updated handrail Plus, there are other passenger enhancements
“We went with the Cloud One seats from Prevost We had a ton of our team sit in them and they’re ver y comfor table,” said Arensdor f “And, while it’s a little thing, it’s a big deal to us that passengers can now tur n off their individual speaker over their seat That really makes things better for our customers and our tour directors ”
Prevost’s Cloud One was introduced in 2021 and combines form, function and style for passenger comfor t Its ergonomic elements include lumbar support, an adjustable seat pan and a headrest and seat belt that can be positioned by each individual pass e n g e r T h e s e a t s a l s o h a v e a s t r i k i n g design They are made from premium materials and are accented with attractive stitching and piping
“Overall, the H3-45 looks and feels a lot more moder n It’s set up for years to be rele v a n t i n t e r m s o f s t y l e a n d f u n c t i o n a l i t y, ” added Arensdor f
Prevost has provided coach solutions for nearly a centur y with an uncompromising commitment to quality, a drive for constant innovation and improvement, and dedication to safety and sustainability in every business aspect Today, Prevost is one of North America’s largest producers of premium intercity touring coaches and is the world leader in the production of high-end motor home and
s p e c i a l t y c o n v e r s i o n c o a c h e s C u s t o m e r suppor t is secured via the largest service n e t w o r k i n t h e m o t o rc o a c h i n d u s t r y w i t h strategically located OEM-owned and operated service centers across North America, a specialized customer suppor t team with more than 260 years of industry experience, and 50+ mobile service vans Prevost manu f a c t u r i n g f a c i l i t i e s a re l o c a t e d i n S a i n t eClaire, Quebec, Canada Prevost is par t of the Volvo Group, one of the world’s leading manufacturers of buses, trucks, construction equipment, power solutions for marine and industrial applications, financing and serv i c e s t h a t i n c re a s e c u s t o m e r u p t i m e a n d p r o d u c t i v i t y F o r m o r e i n f o r m a t i o n , v i s i t www volvogroup com
MCI Delivers Five Luxur y J4500 Coaches to Colorado’s Sunset
Luxur y Limousine
MCI recently announced deliver y of five J 4 5 0 0 c o a c h e s t o D e n v e r- b a s e d S u n s e t Luxur y Limousine, a leading luxur y transportation service provider that operates the largest limousine fleet in Colorado
The new J4500 vehicles from MCI’s bestselling J Series provide the perfect blend of comfor t, style and innovation, and will offer S u n s e t L u x u r y L i m o u s i n e ’s p a s s e n g e r s a truly memorable travel experience
“ We a re t h r i l l e d t o a d d t h e s e n e w M C I coaches to our fleet,” said Darren Weidenhamer, owner of Sunset Luxur y Limousine “Our clients deserve nothing but the best, and these coaches represent the pinnacle of luxury travel They provide superior comfort and sophistication, and we are confident t h a t o u r c l i e n t s w i l l b e d e l i g h t e d w i t h t h i s addition to our fleet ”
Brake Beaver Introduces the OTL-360, the Heavy-Duty, On-Vehicle Brake Lathe
Brake Beaver is proud to announce the l a u n c h o f i t s l a t e s t p r o d u c t , O T L - 3 6 0 , a heavy-duty, on-vehicle brake lathe designed for the heavy-duty market The Brake Beaver OTL-360 is a game-changer in the industry, offering an innovative and efficient way to resur face brake discs in under 20 minutes, saving customers thousands of dollars per vehicle end and several hours of replacement time
D e s i g n e d f o r t h e h e a v y - d u t y m a r k e t , B r a k e B e a v e r i s p e r f e c t f o r h e a v y - d u t y t r u c k s , t r a i l e r s , s c h o o l a n d c o a c h b u s e s , public transit buses and other HD applications With the Brake Beaver OTL-360, cust o m e r s n o l o n g e r h a v e t o r e p l a c e t h e i r brakes when they are rusty, worn or uneven, a s t h e l a t h e i s c a p a b l e o f re s u r f a c i n g t h e d i s c w i t h e a s t T h i s i n n o v a t i v e s o l u t i o n reduces downtime and increases productivity, saving customers time and money
The average time to replace a brake rotor is typically three to four hours, but with the OTL-360, customers can get the job done in a fraction of the time, resurfacing the brake
disc directly on the vehicle, without the need for disassembly or removal
B r a k e B e a v e r c o m e s s t a n d a r d w i t h a two-year warranty, free installation and full
Brake Beaver recently a n n o u n c e d t h e i n t r od u c t i o n o f i t s n e w O T L - 3 6 0 h e a v y - d u t y brake lathe This product is a game changer because it allows resurf a c i n g b r a k e d i s c s i n l e s s t h a n 2 0 m i n u t e s while they are still on t h e v e h i c l e R u s t y, worn or uneven discs can be resurfaced without having to replace or remove them
shop training Made in Europe and designed specifically for the Nor th America HD market, Brake Beaver is the per fect solution for those looking to optimize their brake maintenance operations
D e p e n d i n g o n l o c a t i o n a n d l e v e l o f commitment, Brake Beaver offers free ons i t e d e m o n s t r a t i o n s , a l l o w i n g c u s t o m e r s to see the proudct in action before making a p u rc h a s e
Brake Beaver is committed to delivering innovation and reliable solutions to its customers, and the OTL-360 is the latest addition to its product line With its cost-effective and timesaving features, Brake Beaver is s e t t o re v o l u t i o n i z e t h e h e a v y - d u t y b r a k e maintenance industr y
For more infor mation on Brake Beaver, visit www brakebeaver com or phone (844) 960-6060 to schedule a free on-site demonstration
NFI Group Inc (NFI), a leading independ e n t b u s a n d c o a c h m a n u f a c t u re r a n d a leader in electric mass mobility solutions on April 28 announced that the Regional Transpor tation Commission of Souther n Nevada (RTC) has awarded its subsidiary New Flyer of America Inc (New Flyer) a new contract for zero-emission vehicles This is RTC’s third zero-emission contract with NFI
RTC has awarded New Flyer a five-year contract with an initial fir m order for seven zero-emission, hydrogen fuel cell-electric Xcelsior CHARGE FC™ 60-foot, heavy-duty transit buses (or 14 Equivalent Units EUs), as well as the option to purchase up to 100 b u s e s ( 2 0 0 E U s ) o v e r t h e d u r a t i o n o f t h e contract In total NFI added up to 107 buses (214 EUs) to its first-quar ter 2023 backlog from fir m and option orders
RTC is a regional entity overseeing public t r a n s p o r t a t i o n , t r a f fi c m a n a g e m e n t a n d roadway design and construction funding
for souther n Nevada RTC’s public transit system delivers more than 64 million annual passenger rides in the greater Las Vegas Valley
The next-generation, high-capacity Xcels i o r C H A R G E F C b u s e s w i l l o p e r a t e o n R T C ’s M a r y l a n d P a r k w a y, a 1 3 - m i l e b u s rapid transit route designed to expand bus service, reduce air pollution and enhance passengers’ comfor t, safety and security
Supported by Federal Transit Administration ( F TA ) f u n d s , t h e o r d e r w i l l a l s o s p u r ACCESS2050, RTC’s Regional Transpor tation Plan, focused on enhancing the transp o r t a t i o n s y s t e m a c r o s s t h e s o u t h e r n Nevada region
“Spanning more than 30 years of par tnership, we have delivered more than 820 b u s e s t o RT C T h i s c o n t r a c t m a r k s RT C ’s third EV order awarded to NFI, which once again proves NFI’s undeniable leadership in mass mobility electrification,” said President, North American Bus and Coach, NFI, Chris Stoddar t “The Xcelsior CHARGE FC i s t h e m o s t a d v a n c e d h y d ro g e n f u e l c e l le l e c t r i c b u s i n N o r t h A m e r i c a , w h i c h c a n efficiently operate across a wide range of weather conditions while eliminating greenh o u s e g a s f r o m t a i l p i p e e m i s s i o n s O u r advanced fuel cell-electric buses will provide the Las Vegas Valley community with a fully zero-emission mobility solution for a more sustainable future ”
New Flyer’s Xcelsior CHARGE FC incorporates four distinct technology advancements, including a lighter, simpler and more efficient heavy-duty fuel cell power module that is easier to service; recyclable, highpower batteries; a redesigned waterproof b a t t e r y e n c l o s u r e p r o v i d i n g i m p r o v e d s e r v i c e a b i l i t y ; a n d a h i g h - g r a d e , e l e c t r i c drive traction system with up to 90 percent energy recover y For more infor mation visit newflyer com/FC
NFI is a leader in zero-emission mobility, with electric vehicles operating (or on order) in more than 120 cities in six countries NFI
NFI recently received its third contract from RTC for zero-emission buses Included are seven fuel cell buses and the option to purchase an additional 100 buses over the duration of the five-year contract RTC is the Regional Transportation Commission of Southern Nevada and is headquartered in the Las Vegas area
offers the widest range of zero-emission batt e r y a n d f u e l c e l l - e l e c t r i c b u s e s a n d coaches, and its vehicles have completed more than 115 million EV service miles
Today, NFI supports growing North American cities with scalable, clean and sustainable mobility solutions through a four-pillar approach that includes buses and coaches, t e c h n o l o g y, i n f r a s t r u c t u re a n d w o r k f o rc e development NFI also operates the Vehicle Innovation Center (VIC), the first and only i n n o v a t i o n l a b o f i t s k i n d d e d i c a t e d t o advancing bus and coach technology and p ro v i d i n g w o r k f o rc e d e v e l o p m e n t S i n c e o p e n i n g i n l a t e 2 0 1 7 , t h e V I C h a s h o s t e d more than 350 interactive events, welcoming 7,000 industry professionals for EV and infrastructure training
Leveraging 450 years of combined experience, NFI is leading the electrification of mass mobility around the world With zeroemission buses and coaches, infrastructure a n d t e c h n o l o g y, N F I m e e t s t o d a y ’s u r b a n demands for scalable smar t mobility solutions Together, NFI is enabling more livable c i t i e s t h ro u g h c o n n e c t e d , c l e a n a n d s u stainable transpor tation
With 7,700 team members in nine countries, NFI is a leading global bus manufacturer of mass mobility solutions under the b r a n d s N e w F l y e r ® ( h e a v y - d u t y t r a n s i t buses), MCI® (motorcoaches), Alexander D e n n i s L i m i t e d ( s i n g l e - a n d d o u b l e - d e c k buses), Plaxton (motorcoaches), ARBOC® (low-floor cutaway and medium-duty buses) a n d N F I P a r t s ™ N F I c u r re n t l y o ff e r s t h e widest range of sustainable drive systems available, including zero-emission electric (trolley, batter y and fuel cell), natural gas, electric hybrid and clean diesel
New Flyer is North America’s heavy -duty t r a n s i t b u s l e a d e r a n d o f f e r s t h e m o s t advanced product line under the Xcelsior® and Xcelsior CHARGE® brands It also offers i n f r a s t r u c t u r e d e v e l o p m e n t t h r o u g h N F I Infrastructure Solutions™, a service dedicated to providing safe, sustainable and reliable charging and mobility solutions New F l y e r a c t i v e l y s u p p o r t s m o re t h a n 3 5 , 0 0 0 heavy-duty transit buses (New Flyer, NABI a n d O r i o n ) c u r re n t l y i n s e r v i c e , o f w h i c h
8,600 are powered by electric motors and battery propulsion and 1,900 are zero-emiss i o n F u r t h e r i n f o r m a t i o n i s a v a i l a b l e a t www newflyer com
Destination DC (DDC), the official destination marketing organization for Washington, D C on May 16 celebrated DC Loves Buses Day The event shows appreciation for motorcoach drivers who bring group trav-
elers to Washington, D C , contributing to the overall local economy through tourism
The campaign is designed to welcome and thank group tour operators and bus companies for making Washington, D C one of the top group tour destinations in the U S DDC, the District Department of Transportat i o n , N a t i o n a l P a r k S e r v i c e , N a t i o n a l To u r A s s o c i a t i o n , N a t i o n a l M a l l a n d M e m o r i a l Parks, Union Station Parking Garage, American Bus Association, Student & Youth Travel Association, International Motorcoach Group and the United Motorcoach Association are among the hospitality partners involved
“Even as the motorcoach industry is challenged by a driver shor tage, we know the impor tant role motorcoach drivers play in helping move groups around Washington, D C and their impact on the local economy,” s a y s E l l i o t t L F e r g u s o n , I I , p re s i d e n t a n d CEO of Destination DC “Today we show our appreciation and give thanks to motorcoach drivers – the unsung heroes who bring the business to our city and have helped drive D C to one of the top group tour destinations in the nation ”
DDC and par tners will personally thank motorcoach drivers at key locations in the city including Union Station Parking Garage
On May 16, DC’s Hospitality
and motorcoach drop-off areas around the National Mall and L’Enfant Plaza As a thank you to drivers, teams made up of participants of DDC member organizations will provide 200 lunches donated by Carmine’s and Pinstripes and gift bags with Fogo de Chao gift cards and more, and communicate the latest regulations and important industry and safety updates Those bus drivers following the antiidling laws will be included in a prize drawing sponsored by DDOT
In 2022, Destination DC and 26 member organizations distributed 150 lunches and gift bags within three hours
Group travel is an impor tant segment of tourism to Washington, D C and DDC helps operators with unique itinerary options, activities and resources for planning group and student trips to the nation’s capital In 2021, D C had 19 1 million visitors, up from 13 3 million visitors in 2020 Spring in Washington, D C is an especially popular time with student group travel and the National Cherr y Blossom Festival, this year bringing more than $1 million visitors to the city
DDC has a Facebook page dedicated to group businesses, with tips for group tours and attraction infor mation Lear n more and follow them at DC Loves Groups
T h e E a s t Tr o y R a i l r o a d M u s e u m i s pleased to announce that it has received a $10,000 grant from the John H Emer y Rail Heritage Trust to help return Chicago South Shore & South Bend Car 107 to the operating roster
The East Troy Railroad intends to retur n Car 107 to a mobile classroom, with the ability to easily conver t the car to a third dining car The $10,000 grant from the Emery Trust will go toward the educational components needed, including upgrades to meet ADA requirements
Car 107 is a passenger combine, a car that includes a small compar tment at one end for baggage and freight The car was built by the Pullman Company in 1926 Like many of the original South Shore cars, Car 107 was cut in half and lengthened during World War II to increase seating capacity
The car ran on the South Shore Line until the early 1980s It was acquired in 2010, when the National Park Service transferred ownership of five former South Shore cars to the East Troy Railroad Museum
“Restoring Car 107 is part of a larger educ a t i o n a l p ro j e c t u n d e r w a y i n p a r t n e r s h i p w i t h t h e N a t i o n a l P a r k S e r v i c e a t I n d i a n a D u n e s N a t i o n a l P a r k , ” s a y s W a r d Komorowski, president of the East Troy Rail-
ro a d M u s e u m “ We a re w o r k i n g j o i n t l y t o develop an educational curriculum and lesson plans focusing on electrical power generation, including how electricity, can be effic i e n t l y t r a n f o r m e d i n t o m o t i o n T h e curriculum has been designed to comply w i t h S T E A M re q u i re m e n t s i n t h e s t a t e s o f Wisconsin and Illinois ”
New energy-related interactive educational displays will also be developed for the East Troy depot, with help from a previous grant from the We Energies Foundation That grant has helped pay for new energy efficient windows and an HVAC system to be installed this spring
“We have always been an organization d e v o t e d t o h i s t o r y a n d h e r i t a g e , ” n o t e d Komorowski “Now we will also be able to offer interactive educational programs and displays that help children learn about electricity and transportation while also experiencing an electric interurban railroad firsthand ”
T h e E m e r y Tr u s t d o n a t i o n a d d s t o s i gn i fi c a n t f u n d s t h a t w e r e d o n a t e d f o r t h e re s t o r a t i o n o f C a r 1 0 7 b y A l i c e a n d S t e v e R u d o l p h , w h o a re a c t i v e m e m b e r s o f t h e East Troy Railroad Museum, as well as donations by the Baird Foundation and Rober t W Baird & Company’s Angeletti Group The museum anticipates that additional funds will be required to complete this project If y o u w o u l d l i k e t o c o n t r i b u t e t o w a r d t h i s re s t o r a t i o n e ff o r t , t o w a rd d e v e l o p m e n t o f the educational curriculum or toward other projects at the East Troy Railroad Museum,
visit their Web site at easttroyrr org Or send a check to the East Troy Railroad museum at PO Box 943, East Troy WI 53120 The East Troy Railroad Museum is a 501(c)3 charitable organization
John H Emer y established the John H E m e r y R a i l H e r i t a g e Tr u s t s p e c i f i c a l l y t o f u n d re s t o r a t i o n p ro j e c t s t h a t c a n h e l p rec r e a t e a n d p r e s e r v e t h e r a i l p a s s e n g e r e x p e r i e n c e a s i t w a s i n t h e U S f r o m a p p r o x i m a t e l y 1 9 2 0 t h r o u g h 1 9 6 0 T h e g r a n t t o t h e E a s t Tro y R a i l ro a d M u s e u m i s o n e o f 1 9 g r a n t s a w a r d e d t o r a i l r o a d museums and historical societies in 2023 T h e t r u s t h a s a w a r d e d m o r e t h a n 1 2 0 grants since 2015, including a 2020 grant t o t h e E a s t Tro y R a i l ro a d M u s e u m t o s u pp o r t t h e r e s t o r a t i o n o f C h i c a g o N o r t h S h o r e & M i l w a u k e e p a s s e n g e r c a r 7 6 1 , w h i c h w a s c o m p l e t e d a n d r e t u r n e d t o s e r v i c e i n 2 0 2 1
T h e E a s t Tro y R a i l ro a d M u s e u m o p e ra t e s 1 4 - m i l e ro u n d t r i p t r a i n r i d e s f ro m i t s h i s t o r i c E a s t Tro y d e p o t a n d m u s e u m t o I n d i a n h e a d P a r k i n M u k w o n a g o , w i t h a s t o p a t t h e p o p u l a r E l e g a n t F a r m e r s t o re a n d d e l i T h e y a re c e l e b r a t i n g 1 1 6 y e a r s o f r i d i n g t h e r a i l s t h ro u g h s o u t h e a s t W i sc o n s i n ’s K e t t l e M o r a i n e c o u n t r y s i d e T h e n o t - f o r- p ro f i t m u s e u m i s o p e r a t e d , m a i nt a i n e d a n d m a n a g e d b y m o r e t h a n 1 5 0 volunteers dedicated to engaging visitors i n t h e h e r i t a g e o f e l e c t r i c i n t e r u r b a n r a i lways and trolley systems through restoration, preservation and operation of historic e q u i p m e n t
Forest River Bus announced the acquisition of MobilityTRANS, a paratransit and passenger van manufacturer specializing in ADA-accessible vans, prison transport and first-class shuttles produced in Livonia, Michigan. As the leading provider of highquality transit vehicles, MobilityTRANS has a reputation for innovation and excellence and a nationwide dealer network allowing customized solutions for every customer.
“MobilityTRANS is thrilled to be joining Forest River. I couldn’t ask for a better organization with which to trust our life’s work. We look forward to continued growth providing innovative commercial passenger transportation for our customers,” said Dave Brown, president of MobilityTRANS.
The acquisition of MobilityTRANS further strengthens Forest River’s commitment and ability to deliver tailored passenger transportation solutions. One of those solutions is an ADA-compliant Ford Transit van outfitted with MobilityTRANS’ new, patented Game Changer lift door. This breakthrough innovation, which allows maximum customer flexibility, is a significant step forward for the transit industry, allowing seamless curbside entry, whether ambulatory or in a wheelchair.
“The addition of these incredible products will allow us to continue to offer our customers the latest transportation solutions. I am excited to welcome MobilityTRANS to the Forest River family. We look forward to continuing the legacy they have built for over 30 years,” said David Wright, president of Forest River Bus.
The American Public Transportation Association (APTA) on April 25 honored six public transportation providers from Florida, Illinois, New Jersey, Ohio and Texas with the 2023 Bus Safety, Security and Emergency Management Awards.
The awards recognize transit organizations for their innovative and proactive safety and security programs. This year, APTA added a new category to honor transit agencies that excel in the management of emergencies through partnerships, planning, exercises and drills.
“Every day our industry works closely together to provide transportation to all Americans. A major part of that effort is addressing security and safety advancements and sharing best practices with systems across the country,” said APTA president and CEO Paul P. Skoutelas. “I want to congratulate the public transit agencies being honored for their safety and security contributions to the industry. Their work will
guide the continued growth and advancement of public transit, making it safer for their passengers, employees and communities nationwide.
Nominations are evaluated on four criteria: effectiveness, benefit level, innovation and transferability. The top honor is the Gold Award, which is presented to organizations with the best example of a safety, security or emergency management program. A Certificate of Merit is given to organizations in recognition of exceptional achievement in safety, security or emergency management.
The 2023 Bus Safety, Security and Emergency Management Award winners are awarded in categories based on bus ridership. The 2023 winners are:
Bus Safety Award
Gold Winner – Pace Suburban Bus (Pace), Arlington Heights, Illinois –More than four million and fewer than 20 million passenger trips annually
Certificate of Merit Winner – METRO Regional Transport Authority (Metro RTA), Akron, Ohio –Fewer than four million passenger trips annually
Bus Security Award
Gold Winner – New Jersey Transit Corporation (NJ Transit), Newark, New Jersey –More than 20 million passenger trips annually
Certificate of Merit Winners – Corpus Christi Regional Transportation Authority (CCRTA), Corpus Christi, Texas –Fewer than four million passenger trips annually; METRO Regional Transport Authority (Metro RTA), Akron, Ohio –Fewer than four million passenger trips annually
Bus Emergency Management Award Gold Winner – Capital Metropolitan Transportation Authority (CapMetro), Austin, Texas –More than 20 million passenger trips annually.
Certificate of Merit Winners – Corpus Christi Regional Transportation Authority (CCRTA), Corpus Christi, Texas –Fewer than four million passenger trips annually; MiamiDade Transit, Miami, Florida –Greater than 20 million passenger trips annually.
New York MTA Orders Additional 116 Xcelsior® Buses from NFI
New Flyer of America Inc. (New Flyer), a subsidiary of NFI Group Inc. *NFI), a leading independent bus and coach manufacturer and a leader in electric mass mobility solutions, on April 19 announced that New York City Transit Authority (NYCT) has exercised an option for an additional 116 Xcelsior® 40foot, heavy-duty transit buses. The order was included in NFI’s fourth-quarter 2022 backlog.
NYCT is part of the Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA), and together they comprise the largest transit agency in North America, serving an estimated 8.5 million citizens and more than 60 million visitors with 678 million annual bus rides.
This order will help NYCT to modernize its fleet with more efficient, safe and accessible buses as part of the agency’s strategic priorities to create a faster, more accessible and reliable public transportation system, outlined in its 2020-2024 Capital Program.
“Over the past 25 years, NFI has delivered more than 4,400 buses and coaches to NYCT, supporting New York City with safe and reliable mobility,” said Chris Stoddart, president, North American Bus and Coach, NFI. “With new technology onboard, our Xcelsior buses feature the latest EPA-compliant engine technology –delivering up to 95 percent reduction of NO x emissions. These new buses with industry-leading passenger carrying capacity will provide the New York communities with cleaner, quieter and more efficient transportation.”
The Xcelsior buses conform to the Environmental Protection Agency and National National Bus Trader / June, 2023 • 9
Forest River Bus recently announced the acquisition of Mobility TRANS. Based in Livonia, Michigan, Mobility TRANS is a paratransit and passenger van manufacturer specializing in ADA-accessible vans, prison transport and first-class shuttles.They recently offered a Ford Transit van outfitted with Mobility TRANS’ new patented lift door.Highway Traffic Safety Administration’s comprehensive Heavy-Duty National Program, which reduces greenhouse gas emissions and fuel consumption for heavy-duty highway vehicles
New Flyer’s technology combines ultral o w s u l f u r d i e s e l f u e l , a d v a n c e d e n g i n e s and effective emissions controls, resulting in a highly efficient bus with reduced emiss i o n s F o r m o r e i n f o r m a t i o n v i s i t newflyer com/xcelsior-diesel
Today, NFI supports growing North American cities with scalable, clean and sustainable mobility solutions through a four-pillar
approach that includes buses and coaches, t e c h n o l o g y, i n f r a s t r u c t u re a n d w o r k f o rc e development NFI also operates the Vehicle Innovation Center (VIC), the first and only i n n o v a t i o n l a b o f i t s k i n d d e d i c a t e d t o advancing bus and coach technology and p ro v i d i n g w o r k f o rc e d e v e l o p m e n t S i n c e o p e n i n g i n l a t e 2 0 1 7 , t h e V I C h a s h o s t e d more than 300 interactive events, welcoming 5,000 industry professionals for EV and infrastructure training
On April 21-23, BYD celebrated the 30th Anniversary of the California Poppy Festival
b y s h o w c a s i n g a 6 0 - f o o t K 1 1 M A n t e l o p e Valley Transit Authority (AVTA) bus
AVTA, the local transit agency in the Antelope Valley, recently added three BYD K11M buses to its 100 percent zero-emission fleet and will be receiving another two by the end of the month The buses were built by members of the Sheet Metal, Air, Rail and Transportation (SMART) workers union, Local 105, i n B Y D ’s m a n u f a c t u r i n g f a c i l i t y l o c a t e d i n Lancaster, Califor nia
The 60-foot K11M buses are equipped t o h a n d l e h i g h - v o l u m e p a s s e n g e r o p e r at i o n s , s e a t i n g u p t o 5 5 p a s s e n g e r s a n d c a p a b l e o f i n c l u d i n g t w o A D A - c o m p l i a n t wheelchair positions
“BYD is proud of our continued par tnership with AVTA,” said Patrick Duan, BYD’s senior vice president “As a pioneer in batter y-electric bus transpor tation, AVTA has consistently prioritized its community members by providing them with clean energy transpor tation ”
Trans-Bridge Lines, the Lehigh Valley’s leading motorcoach company, recently cond u c t e d a S a f e t y We e k f o r i t s e m p l o y e e s
Safety Week 2023 was a series of week-long sessions and activities held at the company’s Industrial Drive, Bethlehem location, and the Port Authority Bus Terminal’s meeting space Safety Week continues with the tradition of focusing on safety in ever y situation and a dedication by the Trans-Bridge management team to all employees, passengers and the communities in which they operate
T h e w e e k w a s h i g h l i g h t e d b y s e v e r a l speakers, including Tom JeBran, president o f Tr a n s - B r i d g e L i n e s , w h o a d d re s s e d a l l e m p l o y e e s i n c l u d i n g d r i v e r s , o f fi c e a n d shop staff JeBran spoke of the company’s challenges during- and post-pandemic, and its goals for the future This encompasses conver ting all schedules to a reservationbased system in which passenger tickets are confirmed for the bus time and day they have booked 2022 marked the company’s conversion to online ticketing and the beginning of its transition to reservations for which JeBran thanked drivers and office staff for their assistance and cooperation on Growi n g t h e c o m p a n y ’s fl e e t o f d r i v e r s t o a d d more routes was also discussed
The week’s events focused on many topics, which together, presented a complete safety overview Austin Getz, Trans-Bridge Lines safety manager, opened in the sessions with a discussion on human trafficking and resources available through Busing on the Lookout initiatives, a program aimed at discovering and disrupting human traffick-
ing networks operating within the transportation industry He also spoke about protocols during emergency situations and the chain of command necessar y, dependent on the type of emergency being addressed Additionally, Getz offered facts on drug and alcohol testing and available help for those who find themselves battling addiction
Brendan Stanczyk, safety and training supervisor, updated fellow employees on m i n d f u l d r i v i n g a n d p e d e s t r i a n s a f e t y Stanczyk presented a video featuring seve r a l c l i p s o f re a l - l i f e t r a f fi c a c c i d e n t s a n d pedestrian strikes that emphasized the need to be alert and aware of one’s surroundings at all times Focus points on perception and recognizing a hazard, reaction and braking distance were emphasized
Jerry Featherman, fleet and facilities maintenance manager, showcased OSHA regulations regarding slips, trips and falls He highlighted best practices for avoiding accidents in the workplace and for passengers while traveling on the company’s motorcoaches
Lori Stanke, human resources manager, spoke about the 11 different types of harassm e n t i n t h e w o r k p l a c e S h e i n f o r m e d employees on the difference between bullying and harassment, examples and signs to look for in both, and the steps to take if one finds themselves in those predicaments
G u e s t s p e a k e r s d u r i n g S a f e t y W e e k included the Bethlehem Police Department; f o r m e r c h i e f o f D e w e y F i r e C o m p a n y o f
H e l l e r t o w n , R i c k D e l m o r e ; L e x i H i g g i n s , d i r e c t o r o f Tr u c k e r s A g a i n s t Tr a f fi c k i n g ; Elaine Chan from the Federal Motor Carrier S a f e t y A d m i n i s t r a t i o n ( F M C S A ) ; a n d t h e Transpor tation Security Administration
Trans-Bridge Lines motorcoach drivers were honored for their achievements in safe
Trans-Bridge Lines, headquartered in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, recently conducted a Safety Week for its employees Safety Week 2023 included a series of week-long sessions and activities held at the company’s location on Bethlehem Industrial Drive The week was highlighted by several speakers including Tom JeBran, president of Trans-Bridge Lines
driving Drivers with accident-free, incidentfree, safe driving ranged up to an impressive 26 years Shop staff and drivers were also r e c o g n i z e d f o r e x e m p l a r y a t t e n d a n c e records
Keolis Wins Two Bus Contracts in Califor nia
T h e O r a n g e C o u n t y Tr a n s p o r t a t i o n A u t h o r i t y ( O C TA ) , t h e t r a n s i t a u t h o r i t y f o r one of the main regions of Los Angeles, has just awarded Keolis a contract to operate and maintain its bus network until 2027
The group also obtained the renewal of a contract with Foothill Transit in the suburbs o f L o s A n g e l e s t o o p e r a t e a n d m a i n t a i n service from the Pomona facility until 2027 Keolis will be responsible for introducing 33 new hydrogen-powered electric buses into service – presently the largest hydrogen bus fleet in the United States
The group has been awarded a contract by OCTA to operate and maintain 209 vehicles along 36 routes out of the Anaheim and Irvine/Sand Canyon bases This is equal to approximately 40 percent of OCTA’s fixed r o u t e b u s s e r v i c e B y c o n t r a c t i n g t h i s s e r v i c e , O C TA w i l l p ro v i d e a n a d d i t i o n a l 1 5 0 , 0 0 0 s e r v i c e h o u r s t o t h e p a s s e n g e r s and visitors of Orange County, Califor nia, which has a population of approximately 3 1 million people
Keolis’ objectives will include implementi n g a n e m p l o y e e t r a i n i n g p l a n , re t a i n i n g
as r
ecently awarded two contracts in California Included was a contract to operate and maintain the Orange County Transportation Authority until 2027 and a contract renewal from Foothill Transit to maintain service from its Pomona facility Keolis will be responsible for introducing 33 new hydrogen-powered electric buses, currently the largest hydrogen bus fleet in the United States
employees and providing reliable service and increasing ridership
K e o l i s h a s a l re a d y a s t ro n g p re s e n c e i n t h e re g i o n , i n c l u d i n g s e v e r a l c o n t r a c t s s u c h a s P o m o n a , V i c t o r v i l l e ( O r a n g e C o u n t y ) , Va n N u y s a n d B u r b a n k A i r p o r t T h i s m a k e s i t t h e l e a d i n g b u s o p e r a t o r i n O r a n g e C o u n t y
In addition, the group recently won a twoyear contract to operate the paratransit syst e m i n S a n F e r n a n d o a n d S a n t a C l a r i t a , nor th of Los Angeles
Located east of Los Angeles, Pomona is a city of nearly 150,000 people The bus system, operated and maintained by Keolis on b e h a l f o f F o o t h i l l Tr a n s i t , s e r v e s 1 4 l o c a l ro u t e s i n t h e S a n G a b r i e l Va l l e y a n d f o u r express routes to downtown Los Angeles and Pasadena
With this contract renewal, Keolis will continue to operate and maintain the 147 buses a l r e a d y r u n n i n g o n a l t e r n a t i v e e n e r g i e s (mainly electricity and CNG) and will support its client in its ambition to transition to hydrog e n F o o t h i l l Tr a n s i t , w h i c h h a s h a d t h re e hydrogen-powered buses in its fleet for nearly a year, intends to expand its fleet with the introduction of 33 new vehicles To this end, the transit authority is equipping its Pomona site with a 95,000-liter hydrogen tank to fuel its fleet Keolis teams will assist this deployment drawing on expertise acquired in its Bus and Energy Center of Excellence
This renewal also reinforces Keolis’ posit i o n a s a p a r t n e r o f c h o i c e i n S o u t h e r n
Califor nia
K e o l i s h a s b e e n p re s e n t i n t h e U n i t e d States since 2010, with activities in 21 cities a n d s i x s t a t e s , a n d e m p l o y s n e a r l y 5 , 0 0 0 people in the country The group is the leading private rail operator with the MBTA network around Boston, Massachusetts, and additionally operates nearly 1,200 buses, including 300 in Califor nia
CAVForth Autonomous Bus Service Launches in Scotland
A l e x a n d e r D e n n i s , a s u b s i d i a r y o f N F I Group Inc , one of the world’s leading independent global bus manufacturers, on May 11 announced that Scottish Transport Minister Kevin Stewart officially launched the CAVForth autonomous bus service across the iconic Forth Road Bridge near Edinburgh
C AV F o r t h i s o n e o f t h e m o s t a m b i t i o u s and complex autonomous bus trials worldwide The project is led by Fusion Processing Ltd in cooperation with project partners Stagecoach, Transport Scotland, Alexander D e n n i s , E d i n b u r g h N a p i e r U n i v e r s i t y a n d Bristol Robotics Laboratory It is co-founded b y t h e U K G o v e r n m e n t ’s C e n t re f o r C o nnected and Autonomous Vehicles
F ro m M a y 1 5 , t h e p ro j e c t ’s fl e e t o f fi v e Alexander Dennis Enviro200AV autonomous buses will operate a scheduled passenger service seven days a week on Stagecoach’s new AB1 route Buses will depar t Ferr ytoll
Park & Ride in Fife for Edinburgh Park interchange every 30 minutes The 14-mile route crosses the Forth Road Bridge and is made up of A-roads, motorways, bus lanes and private land It includes a range of complex traffic maneuvers such as roundabouts, traffi c l i g h t s a n d “ w e a v i n g ” m o t o r w a y l a n e changes The vehicles will travel in mixed traffic up to 50 miles per hour
The new AB1 service provides the first direct public transport link between Fife and the business parks and retail outlets at Edinburgh Park It has the capacity to carr y up t o 1 0 , 0 0 0 p a s s e n g e r s p e r w e e k S t a g ecoach’s nor mal bus fares apply
T h e A l e x a n d e r D e n n i s E n v i r o 2 0 0 AV buses are derived for m the manufacturer’s s t a n d a rd E n v i ro 2 0 0 s i n g l e - d e c k e r, m o re than 8,000 of which are in operation across the UK, providing a tried and tested platform to develop autonomous driving capabilities
T h e b u s e s u s e F u s i o n P r o c e s s i n g ’s autonomous drive system, CAVStar, which utilizes data from a suite of state-of-the-ar t s e n s o r s i n c l u d i n g c a m e r a s , L i D A R a n d radar together with artificial intelligence proc e s s i n g t o d e l i v e r o p t i m u m e f fi c i e n c y throughout the jour ney, in all traffic condit i o n s I n a d d i t i o n , r e c e i v i n g i n f o r m a t i o n d i re c t l y f ro m t r a f fi c l i g h t s y s t e m s e n a b l e s t h e b u s t o p l a n i t s s p e e d t o r u n s m o o t h l y from one green light to the next This intelligent autonomous driving reduces unnecessary braking and accelerating, contributi n g t o l e s s w e a r o n b r a k e s a n d t i re s , w i t h c o r r e s p o n d i n g r e d u c t i o n s i n p a r t i c u l a t e emissions
CAVFor th operates at the highest level of autonomous vehicle technology currently per missible on public roads, SAE Level 4, requiring the buses to retain a safety driver Twenty autonomous bus professionals have been recruited from Stagecoach East Scotland’s existing driving team To suppor t the project’s extensive research on passenger and public acceptance of autonomous vehicle technology, a second autonomous bus professional will act as bus captain, moving freely around the vehicle to engage with cust o m e r s T h i s d e m o n s t r a t e s w h a t a f u t u re autonomous service could feel like when a single bus “captain” can leave the cab while the computer does the driving
Minister for Transport Kevin Stewart said: “It is really exciting to see the innovative and ambitious CAVForth project take to the roads in earnest after all the hard work of the partner organizations involved in bringing this world first to Scotland We want Scotland to continue to be at the forefront in the develo p m e n t o f C o n n e c t e d a n d A u t o n o m o u s Ve h i c l e s a n d t h e s t a r t o f t h i s l i v e t r i a l w i l l really help the countr y establish its credentials on the world stage I am excited to see
how this technology can help to support our vision for a sustainable, inclusive, safe and accessible transpor t system ”
P a u l D a v i e s , A l e x a n d e r D e n n i s p re s id e n t a n d m a n a g i n g d i r e c t o r, s a i d : “ O u r par ticipation in this exciting project is test a m e n t t o t h e g re a t e x p e r t i s e o f o u r e n g in e e r i n g t e a m , w h o c o n t i n u e t o l e a d t e c hn o l o g y d e v e l o p m e n t f o r t o m o r r o w ’s m o b i l i t y, a n d t h e t e c h n o l o g y l e a d e r s h i p o f B r i t i s h b u s m a n u f a c t u r i n g We l o o k f o rward to gaining further experience through C AV F o r t h a n d c o n t i n u i n g t o d e v e l o p t h i s promising technology so that it can benefit o u r c u s t o m e r s a n d o p e n i n t e r n a t i o n a l o p p o r t u n i t i e s f o r u s ”
R a y O ’ To o l e , e x e c u t i v e c h a i r m a n f o r S t a g e c o a c h , s a i d : “ T h i s i s a n i n c r e d i b l y exciting time, and we are delighted to see the hard work of all par tners involved pay off on the official launch by Scottish Transpor t Minister Kevin Stewar t We are proud to be at the forefront of transpor t innovation with this project, marking a significant milestone for public transpor t and we look forward to welcoming our customers on board from Monday ”
Jim Hutchinson, Fusion Processing CEO, said: “CAVFor th is an exciting showcase of how our CAVStar® Automated Drive System can safely operate in a very complex driving environment This pilot is globally significant and marks a step change in the operation of autonomous commercial vehicles on public roads ”
Napier University, said: “CAVForth is a worldleading project, and one we are proud to be involved in Automation offers an opportunity to transform the ways we get around in years to come, while improving safety and reducing energy consumption As this trial gets underway, we look forward to contributing E d i n b u r g h
r s t a n d m o r e about the passenger experience on the AB1 service ”
Anthony Pipe, professor of robotics and autonomous systems at the Bristol Robotics
L a b o r a t o r y, s a i d : “ B r i s t o l R o b o t i c s L a b or a t o r y i s v e r y p ro u d t o b e i n v o l v e d i n t h i s groundbreaking project, which is taking a world-lead on advanced automation for the p u b l i c s e r v i c e v e h i c l e s e c t o r T h e s h o r tt e r m b e n e fi t s o f v e h i c l e a u t o n o m y i n providing safer and more energy efficient travel will be illustrated by this project and, i n t h e l o n g e r t e r m , w e b e l i e v e t h a t i t w i l l contribute significantly to transfor mations i n t h e w a y w e a c h i e v e m o b i l i t y i n o u r society ”
TRC Expands Into England with East Sussex County Council
The Routing Company (TRC), a global o n - d e m a n d v e h i c l e ro u t i n g a n d m a n a g em e n t p l a t f o r m p a r t n e r s h i p w i t h c i t i e s t o power the future of public transport, on April 20 announced it has received a 15-vehicle contract from the East Sussex County Coun-
cil (ESCC) The contract, suppor ted by the United Kingdom’s Bus Service Improvement P l a n f u n d i n g , i n c l u d e s a t w o - y e a r b a s e agreement with an optional year extension, for a total of up to three years
The contract was facilitated through the United Kingdom’s G-Cloud 13 cooperative purchasing platfor m, which TRC was listed t o i n N o v e m b e r 2 0 2 2 , m a r k i n g T R C ’s fi r s t contract secured through G-Cloud 13 Using the G-Cloud 13 platform, local UK authorities can select TRC as a supplier without requiring completion of competitive procurement processes
ESCC is the local authority serving the nonmetropolitan and southern coastal county of East Sussex in the UK, overseeing all municipal services in the region, including transportation ESSC is driven by expanding access for local residents (who previously could not access public transport), and the provision of responsive, efficient, shared transport services that best utilize available vehicles
TRC will deliver transport by leveraging its full suite of Pingo products – including flexible on-demand transport services as well as semifixed services – and features such as Pingo J o u r n e y ™ , Tr a n s i t C o n n e c t ™ a n d P i n g o Flex™ Service is anticipated to begin this spring and will be provided in partnership with WeDRT, who will manage 15 dedicated vehicles in addition to deploying non-dedicated vehicles in periods of high demand
“We know that more accessible, shared and on-time transpor t is critical to keeping the East Sussex community connected and provide greater freedom of movement,” said Dami Adebayo, Partnerships Lead, Europe, T R C , “ M a k i n g t h e b e s t u s e o f v e h i c l e s t o provide shared mobility is second nature to u s I n f a c t , w e h a v e p ro v e n o u r a b i l i t y t o deliver up to 24 passengers per vehicle per hour, which not only improves service efficiency, but enhances the rider experience ”
With the new service, ESCC intends to strengthen its existing transport network and increase ridership with 10 vehicles operating fully on-demand in 10 different zones of East Sussex, and five vehicles conver ting from conventional fixed routes to more flexible, s e m i - fi x e d ro u t e s T h e l o c a l p o p u l a t i o n i s nearly 600,000 with ESCC facilitating more than 15 million bus jour neys per year
Launched in October 2022, Pingo Journey integrates TRC’s real-time routing technology with public transpor t infrastructure, allowing riders to hail on-demand transpor t rides and plan multimodal transport journeys all from the single Ride Pingo app The feature makes Pingo the world’s only app offering on-demand transpor t and end-to-end jour ney planning in one place and can be
used alongside the Transit Connect feature Tr a n s i t C o n n e c t g u a r a n t e e s c o n n e c t i o n s b e t w e e n o n - d e m a n d a n d fi x e d - r o u t e services, and will be used alongside Pingo Jour ney to connect riders to other rural bus services in the area
The Pingo Flex feature allows operators to get more out of conventional bus services, by keeping scheduled stops while adding an on-demand element to improve service responsiveness within high density or intermittently peak demand routes
TRC’s Pingo platfor m includes the Drive P i n g o ™ a n d R i d e P i n g o ™ a p p s a n d t h e P i n g o D a s h b o a rd ™ o p e r a t i o n s m a n a g em e n t t o o l , w h i c h t o g e t h e r p r o v i d e o ndemand, paratransit, fixed and flexible transp o r t t h a t e n h a n c e s r i d e r s h i p o f e x i s t i n g transpor t networks
Volvo Buses is changing its business model in Europe and will apply the same successful model as it has on several other markets This means that Volvo Buses will focus its production on chassis and together with exter nal bodybuilders offer customers in Europe a complete range of city and intercity buses as well as coaches for the premium segment Consequently, Volvo Buses has decided to close its bodybuilding factory in Wrocław, Poland, during the first quarter of 2024 Volvo Buses has signed a Letter of Intent regarding the divestment of its premises to Vargas Holding A restructuring provision of SEK 1 3 billion negatively impacted operating income in the first quarter of 2023
“Our business in Europe has been lossmaking for years With this business model that we already today apply successfully in many markets, we will improve profitability and secure our long-term competitiveness,” says
Anna Westerberg, president of Volvo BusesM o v i n g f o r w a rd , Vo l v o B u s e s w i l l c o ntinue to have the customer inter face, offer customers in Europe a complete range of b u s e s a n d c o a c h e s i n p a r t n e r s h i p w i t h selected external bodybuilders, while securing a strong uptime service and a high standard of safety and quality This will give Volvo Buses a leaner structure, improved flexibility and the ability to better meet market requirements and customer demands
Volvo Buses has signed a Letter of Intent (LOI) with the bodybuilder MCV (Manufacturing Commercial Vehicles) with the intention to produce bodies for its electric buses for the city and intercity segments in European markets Serial production is planned to start in the summer of 2024, and the first electric buses are expected to be delivered to customers in Europe in the beginning of 2025
‘We are very pleased that we have deepened our par tnership with MCV since they have both the experience and the competence to produce bodies of the highest quali t y, m e e t i n g E u r o p e a n s t a n d a r d s a n d demands,” says Dan Pettersson, senior vice president at Volvo Buses “By cooperating with an exter nal bodybuilder, we will have g r e a t e r fl e x i b i l i t y t o b e t t e r m e e t m a r k e t requirements and customer demands ”
The intention is that MCV under license will produce bodies for the city buses Volvo 7 9 0 0 E l e c t r i c a n d t h e Vo l v o 7 9 0 0 E l e c t r i c Ar tic with both two and three axles For the intercity segment Volvo Buses and MCV will work together to develop an electric offer As earlier communicated, chassis product i o n w i l l r e m a i n a t Vo l v o B u s e s ’ p l a n t s i n Borås and Uddevalla, Sweden
“Volvo Buses will be the point of contact for customers to ensure high standards in sustainability, safety and quality We will continue to suppor t customers with uptime services and spare parts, both for upcoming new offers and for customers that already have Volvo buses in their fleet today,” says Pettersson
MCV is already one of Volvo Buses’ key p a r t n e r s a n d h a s s u c c e s s f u l l y d e l i v e re d b o d i e s t o c u s t o m e r s i n t h e U K , s u c h a s Metroline who will use the electric buses in London’s public transport system “We look forward to expanding our par tnership with Volvo Buses and work together to create an a t t r a c t i v e o ff e r f o r t h e i r c u s t o m e r s , ” s a y s
Karim Ghabbour, MVB president, Manufacturing Commercial Vehicles
The partnership with MCV is part of Volvo B u s e s ’ n e w b u s i n e s s m o d e l i n E u r o p e , which is to focus on chassis production and work together with external bodybuilders to o ff e r c u s t o m e r s a c o m p l e t e r a n g e o f c i t y and intercity buses as well as coaches The Letter of Intent with MCV applies to bodies for electric buses for the city and intercity segments in Europe Parallel to the partnership with MCV, Volvo Buses is investigating additional offerings with other bodybuilders
MCV (Manufacturing Commercial Vehic l e s ) w a s e s t a b l i s h e d i n 1 9 9 4 I t s g l o b a l headquarters is located in Cairo, Egypt, and it supplies commercial vehicles globally to markets including Europe, Asia, Australia, Africa and Latin America MCV has a production capacity of 10,000 buses per year
The bodybuilding manufacturing in Wroc l a w i s p l a n n e d t o c o n t i n u e u n t i l t h e fi r s t quarter of 2024 Orders placed for complete buses and coaches in Europe will be delivered from the Wrocław plant according to plan Volvo Buses will continue to give full service and suppor t to the existing fleet as well as to the new offering
Alexander Dennis-BYD Par tnership Delivers 39 Electric Buses to Stagecoach in Scotland
A l e x a n d e r D e n n i s a n d B Y D U K j o i n t l y a n n o u n c e d o n A p r i l 1 7 t h a t t h e i r e l e c t r i c
vehicle partnership has completed the delivNational Bus Trader / June, 2023 • 15
e r y o f 3 9 z e r o - e m i s s i o n b u s e s t o S t a g ecoach Alexander Dennis is a subsidiar y of leading independent global bus manufacturer NFI Group Inc (NFI), while BYD is a global leader in batteries, energy management and electric mobility
T h e 2 4 B Y D A D E n v i r o 2 0 0 E V s i n g l ed e c k e r s a n d 1 5 B Y D A D E n v i r o 4 0 0 E V d o u b l e - d e c k e r s h a v e b e e n a l l o c a t e d t o Stagecoach’s operations across Scotland Thir teen buses for Per th joined nine earlier vehicles to conver t all local services in the city to electric Another 11 buses have made all of Dunfer mline’s city network zero emission A fur ther 15 vehicles joined existing B Y D - A l e x a n d e r D e n n i s e l e c t r i c b u s e s i n Aberdeen and Ayrshire
T h e b u s e s w e r e p a r t - f u n d e d b y t h e Scottish Gover nment through Phase One o f t h e S c o t t i s h Z e ro E m i s s i o n B u s C h a ll e n g e F u n d ( S c o t Z E B ) , w h i c h a i m s t o e n c o u r a g e s i g n i fi c a n t c h a n g e i n t h e b u s market by suppor ting the swift transition to zero-emission vehicles and infrastructure T h e f u n d a i m s t o h e l p a c h i e v e t a r g e t s t o re d u c e g re e n h o u s e g a s e m i s s i o n s , c o ntribute to the delivery of low emission zones a n d e n c o u r a g e i n w a r d i n v e s t m e n t a n d growth in the supply chain of zero carbon vehicle and energy solutions
To g e t h e r w i t h d e l i v e r i e s f r o m e a r l i e r o r d e r s , S t a g e c o a c h n o w o p e r a t e s 8 5 B Y D - A l e x a n d e r D e n n i s e l e c t r i c b u s e s i n Scotland Sam Greer, Stagecoach regional director for Scotland, said: “As par t of our d r i v e t o t a r g e t a n e t z e ro U K b u s f l e e t b y
2035, we are delighted to deliver the UK’s first all-electric city bus networks, building f u r t h e r o n t h e i n v e s t m e n t m a d e i n n e w zero emission buses in a number of places in the UK These new state-of-the-ar t electric buses introduced across Dunfer mline,
I n v e r n e s s a n d P e r t h w i l l h e l p d e l i v e r s i gnificantly reduce emissions in these cities
“One of the quickest ways local people c a n h e l p d e l i v e r n e t z e ro i s b y s w i t c h i n g from cars to buses, as well as walking and cycling more We look forward to continuing to work in partnership with the Scottish gover nment and local transpor t authorities on measures to deliver more priority fo bus passengers, more reliable services, simpler ticketing and the best value fares ”
Alexander Dennis National Account Manager Marie Connell said: “We are delighted to continue to support Stagecoach as it transitions to a zero-emission bus fleet across Scotland Our single-deck and double-deck electric buses are a great fit for services in Ayrshire, Dunfermline, Perth and Aberdeen, often joining earlier examples of the same type
“Customers will love the smooth accele r a t i o n , a i r c o n d i t i o n i n g a n d c o m f o r t a b l e Alexander Dennis SmartSeats, while drivers will benefit from a familiar vehicle Thanks to the Scottish government’s support through ScotZEB, these buses have helped to underpin skilled jobs and apprenticeships in the UK bus manufacturing industr y ”
Frank Thorpe, managing director, BYD UK, said: “This latest delivery illustrates the
Alexander-Dennis and BYD announced that they have completed the delivery of 39 zero-emission buses to Stagecoach Included are 24 Enviro200EV single-deckers and 15 Enviro400EV doubledeckers as shown here The buses have been allocated to Stagecoach’s operations across Scotland
excellent progress Stagecoach is making in implementing zero-emission electric bus fleets in key towns and cities in Scotland, with the suppor t of ScotZEB Through pioneering batter y technology and innovation in new energy products, BYD in partnership w i t h A l e x a n d e r D e n n i s , i s p r o u d t o b e involved in helping Stagecoach transition i t s b u s fl e e t s t o c l e a n e M o b i l i t y s o l u t i o n s , that are kinder to the environment, providing e v e n m o r e p a s s e n g e r s i n S c o t l a n d w i t h accessible eco-friendly bus transportation ”
MAN Automated Electric Bus
M A N i s p u s h i n g a h e a d w i t h t h e u s e o f automated city buses As part of the MINGA research project, the company will test an electric city bus with automation in real-life operation in Munich Drivers for automated driving in the city bus sector are mainly high T C O s a v i n g s a n d t h e s h o r t a g e o f d r i v i n g personnel, which can be countered by this
• Optimized public transport can reduce motorized private transpor t
• In the MINGA project, MAN is cooperating with the City of Munich, the Münchner Verkehrsgesellschaft (MVG), the Münchn e r Ve r k e h r s Ve r b u n d ( M V V ) a s w e l l a s companies and research institutes
• Pilot operation of an automated MAN bus planned from 2025 onwards
The population in Munich and the neighboring districts has increased significantly in recent years Parallel to this, the volume of traffic in the city has also increased In order to meet this mobility challenge, new public transport services are needed – in addition to the classic scheduled services, also “ondemand” services that transport passengers comfortably and without transfers
However, the expansion of public transport services is difficult to finance due to rising costs In addition, the nationwide driver shortage limits the possible extension Both problems can be solved with automated city buses The intelligent technology not only reduces the need for personnel – the total c o s t o f o w n e r s h i p ( T C O ) c a n a l s o b e reduced by up to 50 percent
MAN Truck & Bus identified this potential a t a n e a r l y s t a g e a n d h a s t h e re f o re b e e n working intensively on the automation of its b u s e s f o r y e a r s To t h i s e n d , t h e y a r e e q u i p p e d w i t h a n i n t e l l i g e n t A u t o m a t e d Driving System (ADS) with highly developed sensor technology MAN has already successfully tested the automated approach to bus stops in the “@CITY” project
M I N G A ( M u n i c h ’s A u t o m a t e d L o c a l
Tr a n s p o r t w i t h R i d e p o o l i n g , S o l o b u s a n d
B u s - P l a t o o n s ) i s p u r s u i n g a s i m i l a r g o a l The project par tners want to test the operation of highly automated modes of transpor t in the urban and rural public transpor t
MAN is testing an autom a t e d c i t y b u s i n Munich, Germany. The automated program is d e s i g n e d t o r e d u c e o p e r a t i n g c o s t s a n d respond to the nationwide driver shortage Involved in the project i s t h e C i t y o f M u n i c h , t h e l o c a l t r a n s i t p r o v i d e r s a s w e l l a s c o m p a n i e s a n d research institutes.
s y s t e m F o r t h i s p u r p o s e , a r i d e p o o l w i t h t h r e e t o f i v e a u t o m a t e d v e h i c l e s w i l l b e s e t u p f o r o n - d e m a n d o p e r a t i o n , a n d t h e scheduled operation of an automated solo b u s i s a l s o p l a n n e d
M A N i s a c o m m e rc i a l v e h i c l e p a r t n e r o f t h e o p e r a t i n g c o m p a n y S t a d t w e r k e München (SWM) and is providing an autom a t e d a n d f u l l y e l e c t r i c M A N L i o n ’s C i t y E It will be used on bus route 144 through t h e O l y m p i c P a r k , w h i c h i s c h a r a c t e r i z e d b y t o u r i s m a n d l e i s u re P i l o t o p e r a t i o n o f t h i s f i r s t a u t o m a t e d c i t y b u s f r o m M A N accompanied by a safety driver is planned from 2025 “Sustainability is a central par t o f o u r c o r p o r a t e s t r a t e g y, ” s a y s B a r b a ro s O k t a y, h e a d o f B u s a t M A N Tr u c k & B u s “That is why, on the one hand, we are cons i s t e n t l y t r a n s f o r m i n g o u r p r o d u c t s t o e l e c t r i c d r i v e s O n t h e o t h e r h a n d , w e a re p u s h i n g a h e a d w i t h a u t o m a t i o n a n d d i gitalization The MINGA project is an import a n t s t e p f o r u s o n t h e w a y t o t h e m o b i l i t y t r a n s i t i o n ”
A ro u n d a d o z e n p ro j e c t p a r t n e r s f ro m t h e f i e l d s o f p u b l i c a d m i n i s t r a t i o n , research, business and industr y are worki n g t o g e t h e r o n t h e M I N G A p r o j e c t T h e m o b i l i t y d e p a r t m e n t o f t h e C i t y o f M u n i c h i s r e s p o n s i b l e f o r t h e o v e r a l l p r o j e c t a s c o n s o r t i u m l e a d e r I n a d d i t i o n t o M A N , p ro j e c t p a r t n e r s i n c l u d e t h e U n i v e r s i t y o f S t u t t g a r t , t h e K a r l s r u h e I n s t i t u t e o f Technology, the Research Centre for Inform a t i o n Te c h n o l o g y ( F Z I ) a s w e l l a s i o k i
GmbH, Ebusco Deutschland GmbH, Benz + Walter GmbH and Fr yce GmbH Par tner T h e P f e n n i g p a r a d e F o u n d a t i o n , t h e Association of Ger man Transpor t Compan i e s ( V D V ) , Yu n e x Tr a ff i c a n d t h e d i s t r i c t o f M u n i c h a r e i n v o l v e d a s a s s o c i a t e d p a r t n e r s
In six work packages, they are dealing with, among other things, the integration of automated vehicles into the existing mobility e c o s y s t e m , o n - d e m a n d s e r v i c e s , a u t omated bus route operation and the simulation of automated public transport The proj e c t , w h i c h h a s n o w b e e n l a u n c h e d , i s
scheduled to run until December 2025 It is being funded by the Federal Ministry for Digital and Transpor t (BMDV) with around 13 million euros as part of the funding guideline
“ A u t o n o m o u s a n d C o n n e c t e d D r i v i n g i n Public Transpor t ” q
NFI President and Chief Executive Officer P a u l S o u b r y w a s a w a r d e d t h e L i f e t i m e Achievement Award by the Transpor tation D i v e r s i t y C o u n c i l ( T D C ) d u r i n g t h e v i r t u a l 2023 Transportation and Infrastructure Summit on April 17
“It is an honor to be this year’s recipient of the TDC Lifetime Achievement Award,” said Soubry The work that TDC is doing in partnership with organizations like NFI subsidiary New Flyer is important and essential, a n d I w o u l d l i k e t o t h a n k T D C f o r i t s y e a r s o f p a r t n e rs h i p a n d c o l l a b or a t i o n t o d a t e I t was a pleasure to k e y n o t e t o d a y ’s event; my remarks f o c u s e d o n N F I ’s l e a d e r s h i p , t h e e v o l u t i o n t o z e r o e m i s s i o n s a n d how we will collectively navigate the road ahead Workforce development w i l l p l a y a l a r g e and impor tant role in the transition to zero emissions ”
NFI congratulates Soubry on this prestigious recognition and on continuing to drive the new mobility era toward a more sustainable future
Motor Coach Industries (MCI) M o t o r C o a c h I n d u s t r i e s ( M C I ) , a s u bs i d i a r y o f N F I G ro u p I n c ( N F I ) , a l e a d i n g independent bus and coach manufacturer and a leader in electric mass mobility solut i o n s , o n A p r i l 2 8 a n n o u n c e d t h a t S c o t t R o b e r t s o n h a s re j o i n e d t h e c o m p a n y a s director of service centers, reporting directly to Vice President, Customer Care, New Flyer and MCI, Scott Halbesma
L e v e r a g i n g h i s 2 0 + y e a r s o f i n d u s t r y experience, Robertson will lead the operat i o n s o f s i x M C I s e r v i c e c e n t e r s a n d o n e h e a v y - d u t y c o l l i s i o n re p a i r c e n t e r a c ro s s Nor th America
Robertson first joined MCI Service Parts in 2011 and held many roles, including pricing manager, engineering manager, head of marketing, director of the supply chain a n d d i re c t o r o f p ro d u c t m a n a g e m e n t I n 2 0 1 7 , h e t r a n s i t i o n e d t o N F I P a r t s ™ a n d quickly advanced to vice president of cus-
t o m e r s e r v i c e b e f o r e b r i e fl y l e a v i n g t h e o r g a n i z a t i o n i n e a r l y 2 0 2 2 t o j o i n a h e a v y construction equipment dealer
“We value Scott’s outstanding skills and knowledge of the private sector coach mark e t , a n d w e a r e e x c i t e d t o w e lcome him back to o u r t e a m , ” s a i d V i c e P r e s i d e n t , C u s t o m e r C a r e , N e w F l y e r a n d M C I , S c o t t Halbesma “Leveraging his in-depth industr y exper tise c o u p l e d w i t h a s t r o n g t e c h n i c a l a n d l e a d e r s h i p background, Scott has what it takes to l e a d o u r s e r v i c e organization to continue the reliability-driven suppor t our customers expect ”
Robertson will lead the expansion of the s e r v i c e c e n t e r n e t w o r k , s t a r t i n g w i t h t w o s e r v i c e c e n t e r s o p e n i n g i n t h e n e x t y e a r : MCI’s service center in Los Angeles, Califor nia, announced in Januar y 2023; and in Seattle, Washington, which is expected to open in early 2024
Irizar Group is elated to announce that Axier Etxezarreta is returning to his position a s C E O a n d p re s i d e n t o f I r i z a r U S A Etxezarreta is well known as an executive in the team of Irizar USA and led the company with ardor in its initial years
Having previously worked at Irizar USA, Etxezarreta brings on his deep knowledge of the North American market of passenger t r a n s p o r t a n d a v a s t network of relations h i p s w i t h i n t h i s challenging indust r y S i n c e 2 0 2 0 , E t x e z a r r e t a h a s been dedicated to d e v e l o p i n g t h e M e d i t e r r a n e a n markets in Europe a n d d e v e l o p i n g t h e s t r a t e g y f o r sustainable transp o r t a t i o n i n t h e m o t o r c o a c h a n d E V s e c t o r s H e i s n o w s h i f t i n g h i s
f o c u s t o N o r t h A m e r i c a t o f u l l y d e v e l o p Irizar’s presence and consolidate Irizar as a major supplier in Nor th America
Throughout his 20 years within the Irizar Group, Etxezarreta has worked in different countries in a range of different executive positions, including managing director of I r i z a r B r a z i l a n d c o m m e rc i a l m a n a g e r f o r European markets
“I am very happy to come back and continue the strategy of developing the Nor th American market for Irizar Group The past few years due to Covid-19 have posed major challenges to businesses in many industries, especially in transpor tation, but Irizar has demonstrated its commitment to North American operators and has sustained its operations, offering the best service for operators Now it is time to realign the path of Irizar USA and push it forward,” said Etxezarreta
The announcement of Etxezarreta follows the personal decision of Daniel Scarpino de C a s t r o t o l e a v e t h e I r i z a r G r o u p a f t e r 1 9 years of contribution Irizar Group wishes Scarpino the very best in his future endeavors
After 58 years in the transportation indust r y, Darril King h a s d e c i d e d t o re t i re T h e entire team at Daimler Coaches North America would like to express their gratitude for his numerous contributions and wish him all the best in his future endeavors
“ Darril i s a t r u e e x a m p l e o f d e d i c a t i o n and hard work He has been an inspiration t o u s a l l a n d h a s l e f t a n i n d e l i b l e m a r k o n t h e i n d u s t r y, ” s a i d P re s i d e n t a n d C E O o f D a i m l e r C o a c h e s N o r t h A m e r i c a T h o m a s Rohde “We will miss his expertise and leadership, but we know that he has earned this well-deserved retirement We wish him all the best in his next chapter ”
King’s career included positions within s e v e r a l D a i m l e r f a m i l y b r a n d s H e m a d e l a s t i n g i m p a c t s i n m u l t i p l e d e p a r t m e n t s across Detroit Diesel and Setra before joining the team at DCNA His industr y knowle d g e a n d c o n t r i b u t i o n s h a v e b e e n t r u e assets to those who have worked alongside him, and his legacy will be felt for years to come
American Public Transpor tation Association (APTA)
T h e A m e r i c a n P u b l i c Tr a n s p o r t a t i o n
A s s o c i a t i o n ( A P TA ) h a s a n n o u n c e d t h e
n e w e s t m e m b e r o f t h e s e n i o r l e a d e r s h i p team Effective May 8, Christiana Cameron w i l l b e c o m e A P TA’s c h i e f f i n a n c i a l o ff i c e r
“ We a re e x c i t e d t h a t Christiana w i l l b e joining APTA to lead our finance and information technology departments,” said APTA President and CEO Paul P Skoutelas “Her extensive experience in all phases of financial management in t h e p r i v a t e a n d n o n - p ro fi t s e c t o r s w i l l s e r v e A P TA a n d o u r i n d u s t r y well ”
Cameron m o s t r e c e n t l y s e r v e d a s t h e c h i e f f i n a ncial officer of Intell i g e n t Tr a n s p o r t at i o n S o c i e t y o f A m e r i c a ( I T S A m e r i c a ) i n Wa s hi n g t o n , D C I n t h a t r o l e , s h e w a s responsible for finance, accounting, budg e t i n g , i n t e r n a l c o n t ro l s , a u d i t , I T, h u m a n r e s o u r c e s , r i s k m a n a g e m e n t a n d c o nt r a c t s
Prior to joining ITS America, she was the principal of Beckwith Cameron, LLC, providing strategic and operational exper tise to diverse clients She also served as vice president of finance and administration for America’s Natural Gas Alliance managing inter nal operations, including accounting and finance, human resources, contracts, facilities and IT
Cameron ear ned a master’s in business administration from Georgetown University and a bachelor’s in histor y from Gonzaga University She lives in Arlington, Virginia, with her husband, their three teenagers and their spaniel q
One of the more interesting news stories in the bus industry recently has been that Tom McCaughey has donated his movie buses to the Museum of Bus Transportation in Hershey, Pennsylvania. In addition, McCaughey has agreed to help the museum
by working with them in dealing with the movie people and producers seeking a bus to use in a movie, video or other production
Many people in the bus industry are not a w a re o f h o w e x t e n s i v e t h i s c o r n e r o f t h e
industry has become Producers are working h a r d t o f i l l u p a l l o f t h o s e t e l e v i s i o n a n d satellite channels as well as online videos with material In many cases, they are looki n g f o r h i s t o r i c a l b u s e s t o a p p e a r i n t h e i r scripts Maybe the bus is simply in the back-
ground to set the stage for the era In other cases, the hero may board the bus in a moving departure scene, or arrive back home on a bus to be welcomed by a waiting girlfriend or wife
M u c h o f t h i s m o v i e a c t i v i t y n e v e r g e t s made public because many if not most of the producers try to avoid publicity prior to the
re l e a s e o r s h o w i n g o f t h e i r w o r k H e n c e , s o m e o f u s m a y k n o w o f t h i s b u s f i l m i n g activity but it rarely gets into print or made public because of this secrecy. One example that we were allowed to talk about was the filming of Hero’s Honeymoon at the Museum of Bus Transportation in late 2019. This was included in an article in the February, 2020 NATIONAL BUS TRADER
H e ro ’ s H o n e y m o o n i s b a s e d o n t h e t r u e story of the honeymoon bus trip of the parents of Burt Kempner on a bus going to Niag a r a F a l l s . T h e i r t r i p c o i n c i d e d w i t h t h e f a m o u s 1 9 3 8 O r s o n We l l s r a d i o p ro g r a m dramatizing the War of the Worlds book by H . G . We l l s . M a n y l i s t e n e r s , i n c l u d i n g t h e people on this bus, failed to realize it was a d r a m a t i z a t i o n a n d t h o u g h t t h a t a n a l i e n invasion was actually in progress The main “ c h a r a c t e r ” o f t h e p ro d u c t i o n w a s a 1 9 2 9 Ye l l o w C o a c h o n l o a n t o t h e m u s e u m b y F u l l i n g t o n B u s M u c h o f t h e f i l m i n g w a s done right there on museum property
An interesting side note is that this need f o r h i s t o r i c a l e q u i p m e n t i s n o t l i m i t e d t o buses A film in 1992 titled A League of Their Own featured the Rockford Peaches profess i o n a l w o m e n ’ s b a s e b a l l t e a m . O n e s c e n e involved the arrival of a train that was shot at the Illinois Railway Museum in Union, Illinois. The interesting story is that the professional actor playing the train engineer was unable to stop the train where the filming crew needed it. Hence, one of the museum m e m b e r s w h o h a d m o re t r a i n e x p e r i e n c e ended up as the engineer in the film.
The bus museums are often approached by people seeking a bus to be used in a production Because of their location in California near Hollywood, the Pacific Bus Museum and their members have been involved for years with providing buses for various productions. The Museum of Bus Transportation
i n H e r s h e y, P e n n s y l v a n i a h a s h a d b u s e s involved in several prouctions recently In addition, there are some private collections of historical buses as well as commercial bus operators with older buses in their fleet that they make available for filming. There is more of this going on than you might think This National Bus Trader / June, 2023
brings us back to McGaughey and the story behind his movie buses
McCaughey was the founder of a waste management fleet business When he sold this business, he wanted to remain in transportation so he purchased a small bus opera t i o n i n C r a n s t o n , R h o d e I s l a n d i n 2 0 0 1 Owned by Gaetano DiCostanzo and his son C a r l o , t h e c o m p a n y h a d o r i g i n a l l y b e e n founded in 1981 and had a three-bus fleet with a 1974 MC-8, a 1980 MC-9 and a 1981 MC-9 He rebranded as Flagship Bus Lines and then joined Trailways in 2005 and grew to run a modern, versatile fleet of 18 coaches. The company specialized in short- or longdistance charter rips, meetings and convent i o n s a s w e l l a s s c h o o l t r i p s . M c C a u g h e y commented: “I had a lot of fun doing it ”
He then got into collecting vintage buses by chance and started with an Eagle From there he purchased some vintage buses he had heard about from a business acquaint a n c e i n C o n n e c t i c u t M c C a u g h e y m e ntioned, “Getting into the film business was fortuitous It’s a small industry, and as they
say: Once you know a guy it just grows from there ” He began operating the movie buses as somewhat of a sideline to his commercial bus company.
McCaughey did mention that his proximity to Massachusetts helped. He suggests that operators interested in featuring equipm e n t i n f i l m s s h o u l d c h e c k a n d f i n d o u t whether their state has an official film office w i t h a f i l m p ro d u c t i o n re s o u rc e s d e p a r tment. He noted his own close proximity to Massachusetts, a state that has a highly competitive package of tax breaks Hence, it is the reason for being a popular place for filmmakers today
“Providing buses for films can be months o f
y. M a rc h o f 2 0 2 2 f o u n d h i m i n D e e r f i e l d , M a s s a c h u s e t t s where his 1958 TDH5106 was used for The Holdovers. This is a comedy-drama that takes place in 1970 over the Christmas holidays Paul Giamatti stars as a disliked prep school professor. He, as well as the head cook of the school and a 15-year old student and trou-
ble-maker, are the only “holdovers” remaining at the school over the holidays
A n o t h e r 2 0 2 2 f i l m i n g t o o k p l a c e i n upstate New York for the set of Three Women s t a r r i n g S h a i l e n e Wo o d l e y M c C a u g h e y ’ s 1 9 7 5 M o d e l 0 5 S i l v e r E a g l e w a s i n v o l v e d in the production This is a Showtime hourl o n g s e r i e s b a s e d o n t h e N o 1 n o n f i c t i o n bestseller by Lisa Taddeo, a book that covers the emotional lives of three women from d i ff e re n t b a c k g ro u n d s . M c C a u g h e y w a s b e h i n d t h e w h e e l o f h i s S i l v e r E a g l e f o r e p i s o d e s o f C a s t l e R o c k , a f o r m e r H u l u ® show inspired by stories created by Stephen King
O t h e r s h o w s f e a t u r i n g F l a g s h i p b u s e s i n c l u d e d B l a c k M a s s , a J o h n n y D e p p f i l m based on the life of Boston mobster Whitey Bulger Flagship buses were also included i n t h re e e p i s o d e s o f J u l i a , a d o c u m e n t a r y about Julia Child and Hulu’s Only Murders i n t h e B u i l d i n g s t a r r i n g S t e v e M a r t i n McCaughey has authentic bus driver uniforms and frequently appears in these prod u c t i o n s a s a b u s d r i v e r I t i s n o t e a s y t o
locate actors who are comfortable and experienced in driving buses
R e c e n t l y, M c C a u g h e y m a d e t h e d e c is i o n t o s t e p b a c k a n d re t i re f ro m t h e b u s business Last year he sold the commercial p a r t o f F l a g s h i p Tr a i l w a y s t o D AT T C O H e h a s re m a i n e d a c t i v e i n t h e t r a n s i t i o n t o D AT T C O b y h e l p i n g m o v e h i s c u st o m e r s o v e r t o t h e n e w o w n e r T h e n e x t q u e s t i o n w a s w h a t t o d o w i t h t h e m o v i e b u s e s a n d h i s t o r i c a l f l e e t
Over the years McCaughey had developed close ties with many of the people at the Museum of Bus Transportation. There were common interests in the bus industry and particularly in bus history Looking for a place where his buses could be preserved, made available for the public to see yet still b e a v a i l a b l e f o r f u t u r e m o v i e w o r k , McCaughey decided to donate his historical fleet to the museum
Included in the donation are five buses –a 1953 TDH5106 “Old Look” transit and a 1958 TDH5106 that was one of the last of the “ O l d L o o k ” m o d e l s b u i l t T h e re i s a 1 9 6 4 T D H 5 3 0 1 “ N e w L o o k ” w i t h s i g h t s e e i n g windows, a 1975 Model 05 Eagle and a 1998 MCI 102DL3 coach
In addition to the donation, McCaughey paid to have the historical buses transported f r o m h i s l o c a t i o n i n R h o d e I s l a n d t o t h e
museum in Hershey, Pennsylvania He will also be responsible for museum movie bus operations in the future In fact, to make the movie operations run smoothly, he plans to come along as driver on the photo shoots.
All of this is very much welcome at the museum. In recent years, the use of museum
buses for movies and other productions has been increasing This provides some much a p p r e c i a t e d e x t r a i n c o m e t o s u p p o r t m u s e u m a c t i v i t i e s a n d b u s p re s e r v a t i o n
McCaughey’s donation of both the historic buses and his expertise in movie productions will be very welcome at the museum q
Part One of the MCI history was published in a prior issue This Part Two continues the story from approimately 1970 to the turn of the century
The early years of the 1970s saw several t h i n g s t h a t w o u l d i m p a c t M C I Z o l t o k re t i re d i n 1 9 7 1 a f t e r h a v i n g b e e n w i t h t h e company for nearly four decades. In addition to founding the company, he brought it from a small, regional builder to its current status on the way to becoming the largest c o a c h b u i l d e r i n t h e U n i t e d S t a t e s a n d Canada.
U S o p e r a t o r s s a w G re y h o u n d ’ s M C I coaches and wanted them too. By this time M C I w a s a l r e a d y c h a l l e n g i n g G e n e r a l Motors in the market Unlike Greyhound, a company that handled its own support and used coach sales, other operator customers required some sales and customer support. Many of them also wanted to trade in older coaches To provide this type of support to M C I c u s t o m e r s , H a u s m a n B u s S a l e s w a s appointed as MCI’s exclusive U S distributor on May 1, 1972 Originally founded in 1946 to handle used parts and equipment f r o m G r e y h o u n d , G e r a l d H a u s m a n h a d developed the operation into a parts company and used coach business Headquartered in Chicago, by 1968 the company had branch offices in New Jersey and California plus other smaller, locations
As sales increased, the MCI parts operation moved from Pembina in 1971 to Northl a k e , I l l i n o i s . I n 1 9 7 5 , t h e c o m p a n y n a m e was changed to Universal Coach Parts An interesting side note is that since many bus companies ordered their parts shipped by bus package express, Greyhound scheduled a daily run from Chicago to Northlake for this purpose For a while this run was held down by a Scenicruiser combo that had only a few passenger seats at the front.
The 35-foot coach in the product line was upgraded to the model MC-5B in 1971. Initially there were few changes from the MC5 A b u t w h e n t h e M C - 8 m o d e l w a s i n t roduced in 1973, the MC-5B was given square marker lights replacing the bullet lights of t h e p r e v i o u s m o d e l s . T h e M C - 5 B m o d e l remained in production until 1977, but it was i n c re a s i n g l y o b v i o u s t h a t m o s t o p e r a t o r s were moving to the 40-foot coaches.
Production switched from the MC-7 to the MC-8 in 1973. Dimensions remained that same with a length of 40 feet, three axles and a width of 96 inches. However, the MC-8 had a more squared appearance and some new features Instead of the larger dip in the roof o f t h e M C - 7 t h a t s o m e w h a t i m i t a t e d t h e Scenicruiser, the MC-8 had only a small dip i n t h e ro o f I n 1 9 7 8 , d u r i n g i t s l a s t y e a r o f production, the slanted MC-8 windows were
replaced by the new square windows of the forthcoming MC-9 model
In 1973 the most noteworthy event in the bus industry was the fuel crisis A shortage of fuel caused many gas stations to run out o r r a t i o n T h i s re s u l t e d i n e n c o u r a g i n g a small percentage of auto owners to take the bus that in turn increased new coach sales. Orders increased to such an extent that there
was no capacity left at Winnipeg for Greyhound bus orders To resolve this problem a n d c o n t i n u e b u i l d i n g c o a c h e s f o r G re yhound, a sister company known as Transp o r t a t i o n M a n u f a c t u r i n g C o r p o r a t i o n
(TMC) was established in an aircraft hangar in Roswell, New Mexico
TMC went into production in late 1974 w i t h t h e n e w m o d e l M C - 8 W h i l e t h e
c o a c h e s p ro d u c e d a t R o s w e l l w e re e s s e ntially the same as at Winnipeg and Pembina, they carried the “TMC” letters on their nose p l a t e i n s t e a d o f “ M C I ” F o r t h e f i r s t e i g h t years of production, Roswell did not have its own parts manufacturing line Both parts and knocked-down shells were shipped to Roswell from the Fort Garry plant The Fort Garry plant also continued to ship shells to Pembina for completion. The initial production at Roswell was for Greyhound but in later years many of the coaches produced went to other operators.
In late 1977, the model MC-5C replaced the MC-5B as the 35-foot coach in the model line It was the most changed of the series since it effectively included an MC-8 type front and then the roof dipped down slightly behind the entranceway to a standard 35foot coach body. It remained in production through 1980, but only 380 total units were p r o d u c e d M a n y o f t h e s e w e r e a s p e c i a l order for Greyhound to be used for contract s e r v i c e i n S a u d i A r a b i a F o r t y M C - 5 C coaches on this order were built to a transit configuration with two doors, a double roof to help dissipate heat and no restroom
The new MC-9 model made its debut in P o r t l a n d i n O c t o b e r o f 1 9 7 8 w i t h t h e f i r s t deliveries in late January of 1979. Like the previous MC-7 and MC-8 models, it was 40 feet long, 96 inches wide and had three axles a l t h o u g h a f e w w e re b u i l t w i t h o n l y t w o axles However, it now made a clean break with the Scenicruiser design by having a flat roof The MC-9 achieved two distinctions For a few years after the elimination of the 35-foot model, it was the only model produced by MCI It also amassed a total production count of more than 9,500 units, making it the most popular 40-foot coach in the U S and Canada
T h e m o s t i m p o r t a n t e v e n t i n 1 9 7 9 w a s the arrival of the second fuel crisis that was re g a rd e d b y m a n y a s w o r s e t h a n t h e f i r s t one in 1973 Once again gas stations ran out
of fuel and some automobile drivers began riding buses. Sales of new buses increased while the values on used coaches went up Some operators actually sold their “slots” o n t h e p ro d u c t i o n l i n e t o o t h e r o p e r a t o r s more in need of equipment
Production was expanded to new levels A second production line was added at Fort Garry and Pembina. Winnipeg and Pembina were turning out five coaches per working d a y I n a d d i t i o n , t h e y w e r e s u p p l y i n g another two coaches per day on a “knocked down” basis for TMC at Roswell Unfortunately, the fuel crisis was diminishing just as production increased The 35-foot MC5C model was discontinued in June of 1980 so that production could concentrate on the more popular 40-foot coach
Other than the sole trolley bus MCI built for Winnipeg in 1942, MCI had never shown much interest in transit buses This changed in 1979 when the Citycruiser went into prod u c t i o n i n R o s w e l l . O r i o n i n M i s s i s a u g a , Ontario, was founded in 1975 by Don Sheard o w n a s O n t a r i o B u s I n d u s t r i e s H i s g o a l was to build a good, integral small transit bus to replace the aging smaller GM transits that were then still in operation. A licensing arrangement with TMC in Roswell put the C i t y c ru i s e r i n t o p ro d u c t i o n t h a t w a s s o l d through Hausman Bus Sales. In later years, Ontario Bus Industries moved into the big time with larger transit buses and was eventually acquired by Daimler
S e v e r a l c h a n g e s i n t h e e a r l y 1 9 8 0 s s h o w e d t h a t M C I w a s t a k i n g o v e r a s t h e
Increasing orders prompted the establishment of an additional manufacturing facility adjacent to the airport in Roswell, New Mexico. It went into production in 1974 with the MC-8 model for Greyhound but later built coaches for other operators Originally, shells and parts were shipped to Roswell from the Ft. Garry plant in Winnipeg, but Roswell later developed its own parts supply.
leading motorcoach in the United States and C a n a d a A d d i t i o n a l p a r t s l o c a t i o n s w e re opened in 1980 including Ontario and New Jersey. An additional facility opened in California in 1984 In 1982 the Roswell facility established its own parts manufacturing line a n d n o l o n g e r d e p e n d e d o n m a j o r s h i pm e n t s f ro m Wi n n i p e g D e c e m b e r o f 1 9 8 4 saw the introduction of MCI’s first “Letter M o d e l ” a t a n e v e n t i n S a l t L a k e C i t y w i t h the new 96A3 The new model designation highlighted width and number of axles and w o u l d re m a i n i n u s e u n t i l t h e t u r n o f t h e century The “A” model was soon available in widths of 96 and 102 inches and with two or three axles
For a period of about seven years from late 1986 to 1993, Greyhound Corp made t h e d e c i s i o n t o e x i t b u s o p e r a t i o n s b u t increase involvement in bus manufacturing, thus bringing MCI into a third and substantially larger era of transit bus production.
It all started in December of 1986 when G re y h o u n d C o r p . a n n o u n c e d t h a t i t w a s s e l l i n g G r e y h o u n d L i n e s t o a g r o u p o f investors headed by Fred Currey in Dallas B y t h i s t i m e G re y h o u n d h a d m a d e m a j o r investments in soap and meatpacking This was soon followed by Greyhound’s acquis i t i o n o f t h e re m a i n i n g b u s p ro d u c t i o n o f General Motors GM had previously discontinued coach production in 1979 since that p a r t o f t h e m a r k e t h a d g o n e t o M C I Tw o transit production lines remained One was t h e p o p u l a r m o d u l a r RT S ( R a p i d Tr a n s i t Series) produced at GM’s traditional Pontiac, Michigan facility. The other was the GM production facility at St Eustache, Quebec, not far from Montreal
The RTS was a modular design in fivefoot segments originally produced by GM in 1977 as a temporary model until the new Transbus went into production As bus his-
torians know, the Transbus was a failure and the RTS not only continued in production and then became the most popular transit bus on the market. The RTS production line w a s m o v e d t o t h e R o s w e l l , N e w M e x i c o facility in 1987
GM originally built transit buses in Lond o n , O n t a r i o b u t m o v e d t o S t . E u s t a c h e , Quebec in 1979 following a major order for New Look transit buses by Montreal The models were changed from the New Look to the Classic model in 1982-83 and 16 articulated Classic transit buses were also built The transit buses carried the MCI name making MCI both the largest coach and largest transit bus builder at this time. The only pre-
MCI upgraded its coach product line in 1988 with the introduction of the new model 102C3 As you can tell by the model number, it had a width of 102 inches, three axles and a length of 40 feet Designed primarily for upscale charter and tour service, the 102C3 offered a fully paintable exterior, although some operators continued to insist on some optional stainless steel siding. It soon became more popular than originally anticipated The
When
by MCI since the narrow width was losing popularity
G re y h o u n d C o r p . b e g a n c h a n g i n g i t s n a m e t o a v o i d a c o n n e c t i o n w i t h t h e b u s o p e r a t i n g c o m p a n y a n d e l i m i n a t e c a l l s asking when the next bus would leave By 1 9 9 1 , i t h a d b e c o m e D i a l C o r p , n a m e d a f t e r t h e s o a p c o m p a n y i t o w n e d . H o we v e r, i t c o n t i n u e d t o e x p a n d i n b u s m a n uf a c t u r i n g I n 1 9 8 9 U n i v e r s a l C o a c h P a r t s m o v e d i t s p r i m a r y o p e r a t i o n a n d w a r eh o u s e f ro m N o r t h l a k e t o a l a rg e r f a c i l i t y i n D e s P l a i n e s , I l l i n o i s I n 1 9 9 3 , U n i v e r s a l C o a c h P a r t s i n t ro d u c e d i t s o w n b r a n d o f p a r t s c a l l e d C o a c h G u a rd F u r t h e r e x p a ns i o n c a m e i n 1 9 9 5 w i t h t h e a c q u i s i t i o n o f
s c h o o l b u s p a r t s d i s t r i b u t i o n a n d i n 1 9 9 7 with the acquisition of parts business from t h e F l x i b l e C o m p a n y
More expansion in the manufacturing end i n c l u d e d t h e a c q u i s i t i o n o f H a u s m a n B u s Sales in 1989 In 1983, Hausman had moved to a new location on Golf Road in Des Plaines, Illinois that included sales, service and parts. After the MCI acquisition, the Hausman parts business was transferred to Universal Coach Parts. The facility then housed some MCI corporate offices for a while It was noteworthy t h a t e v e n a f t e r t h e s a l e , G e r a l d H a u s m a n w o u l d s h o w u p f o r w o r k m o s t e v e r y d a y Other acquisitions at that time included Custom Coach Corporation of Columbus, Ohio,
With the 45-foot coach length on the horizon, MCI worked with the Canadian government in 1990 to produce a prototype coach for the disabled in a length of 45 feet It had several features for the handicapped including a lift for mobility devices and an accessible restroom. While this coach never went into production, it did serve as a prototype for the 102DL3 model that was introduced after the 45-foot length was approved.
a m a j o r c o n v e r t e r o f c o a c h e s i n t o m o t o r homes, entertainer coaches and corporate interiors Custom Coach had recently provided a coach to Greyhound that was used to transport announcer John Madden to his football games
MCI began experimenting with the 45foot coach length in anticipation of future developments In late 1989 the company produced a 45-foot conversion shell based on t h e 1 0 2 C 3 m o d e l . F u n d e d i n p a r t b y t h e Canadian government, MCI developed a 45foot prototype accessible coach in 1990 It i n c l u d e d s e v e r a l f e a t u r e s f o r t h e h a n d icapped including a wheelchair lift and accessible restroom.
Coach production ended at the Roswell, New Mexico facility in 1990. In addition to c o a c h e s , t h i s f a c i l i t y a l s o p ro d u c e d t ru c k trailers and the Citycruiser transit bus developed by Orion It had been building the RTS transit buses since 1987
Tw o t h i n g s h a p p e n e d a t t h i s t i m e t h a t required changes in the MCI product line One took place on December 18, 1991 when the new Intermodal Surface Transportation
E f f i c i e n c y A c t w a s s i g n e d i n t o l a w I t included a provision that established 45 feet as the allowable length for coaches on interstate and federal aid highways. The second change was that Detroit Diesel introduced t h e i r n e w S e r i e s 6 0 e n g i n e a s t h e re p l a c ement for then-popular 8V-92TA. Since the n e w e n g i n e w a s l a r g e r t h a n t h e c u r r e n t model, it could not fit into the engine compartments of the existing A, B or C models.
As a result, MCI officially introduced its new 45-foot 102DL3 model at the UBOA Bus Expo in Chicago in February of 1992 It came with a larger engine compartment including the Series 60 engine and several innovations P ro d u c t i o n s t a r t e d i n l a t e 1 9 9 2 T h e c o mpanion 40-foot 102D3 model was introduced in January of 1994
National Bus Trader /
F o l l o w i n g a b a n k r u p t c y, G r e y h o u n d again began looking for new coaches for its f l e e t In st e a d of movi n g t o t h e n e w w i dt h and length, Greyhound elected to stay with a 40-foot length and a 96-inch width. What M C I o ff e re d w a s t h e M C - 1 2 m o d e l , e ff e ct i v e l y a c r o s s b e t w e e n t h e M C - 9 a n d t h e 96A3 By the end of 1994, Greyhound had 801 of them in its fleet
The 48-year relationship with Greyhound ended in 1993 that had seen MCI catapulted f r o m b e i n g a s m a l l , r e g i o n a l C a n a d i a n builder to the leading coach manufacturer in the United States and Canada MCI and the other companies involved in the Transportation Manufacturing Operations segm e n t o f D i a l C o r p ( f o r m e r l y G re y h o u n d C o r p . ) w e r e s p u n o f f a s a n a u t o n o m o u s operation known as Motor Coach Industries I n t e r n a t i o n a l ( M C I I ) I n c l u d e d w a s a l l o f Pembina, 69 percent of the Winnipeg oper-
ations, TMC, Hausman Bus Sales, Universal C o a c h P a r t s , B u s L e a s e , C u s t o m C o a c h Crop , MCI Acceptance Corp and a small i n t e r e s t i n M e x i c a n a d e A u t o b u s e s N o t included was the former GMC Diesel Division in St, Eustache, Quebec and the RTS line t h a t h a d r e c e n t l y b e e n s o l d t o N o v a b u s While this offered independence of a sort, it a l s o s a d d l e d t h e n e w c o m p a n y w i t h s u bstantial debt that would become an ongoing concern for years
Later in 1993, the now-independent MCII did manage to acquire the outstanding 31 percent of stock in the Winnipeg facility that had been publically traded on the Toronto S t o c k E x c h a n g e N o t i n c l u d e d w i t h M C I I were the two transit bus production operations A new company named Novabus was c re a t e d t o s a v e t h e j o b s a t S t E u s t a c h e I t acquired this facility in 1994, continued Classic bus production, and developed their new LFS bus that was first delivered in 1997 It continues in operation Novabus originally
Even after the regular MC-12 model production ceased, some units were built in 1994 as Prisoner Transportation Vehicles using the smaller Series 50 engine. This photo shows the last one leaving Winnipeg for finishing in Pembina, representing the last of the “number” models dating back to 1948 MARC SAUCIER
took over the RTS line in Roswell but sold it to Millenium Transit Services in 2003. Operations closed in 2009 when the industry went to low-floor models
MCII’s independence did not last long I n 1 9 9 4 , a m e r g e r w a s o r c h e s t r a t e d w i t h G r u p o D i n a o f M e x i c o i n a c o m p l e x d e a l involving a Dina subsidiary in the United S t a t e s a n d a n e x c h a n g e o f M C I I s t o c k f o r Dina stock and notes Dina was originally founded in 1951 as Diesel National S A by the Mexican government. In 1961 the comp a n y h a d a n a g r e e m e n t w i t h F l x i b l e t o build the Hi-Level and Flxliner models in M e x i c o I n 1 9 8 9 t h e c o m p a n y w a s p r i v atized when acquired by Consorcio Grupo G S A d e C V o w n e d b y t h e F l o re s f a m i l y. More recently, Dina had expressed a strong interest in entering the U S market by disp l a y i n g t w o c o a c h e s a t t h e U M A s h o w i n 1993 with pretty senoritas passing out literature Dina showed three coaches at the U M A s h o w i n e a r l y 1 9 9 4 , i n c l u d i n g a 4 5 -
F l x i b l e h a d b u i l t c o a c h e s a t t h e i r h o m e b a s e i n L o u d o n v i l l e , O h i o f o r decades including Clippers and later models When Flxible ceased production, MCI acquired the facility and used it to build both new and aftermarket coach parts. It also developed a reputation for collision repair, major refurbishing and drive train updates
f o o t P a r a d i s o m o d e l , a n d p ro v i d e d s a l e s literature in English
Almost immediately, MCI began selling the 43-foot Mexican-built Dina Viaggio bus i n t h e U n i t e d S t a t e s M C I e n g i n e e r s t h e n developed a new integral coach model that went into production at the Dina factory in S a h a g u n , M e x i c o A 4 0 - f o o t v e r s i o n w a s sold to Mexican operators while the 35-foot t w o - a x l e m o d e l , i n i t i a l l y k n o w n a s t h e 1 0 2 F 2 a n d l a t e r a s t h e F 3 5 0 0 , w a s s o l d i n the United States
Following that, MCI developed the new “G” model in conjunction with Greyhound. It was designed primarily for scheduled service and included several Greyhound recommendations to simplify maintenance. It was originally put into production at the Sahagun plant in a 41-foot version that became known as the G4100. It would later continue in prod u c t i o n w i t h t h e m o r e - s t a n d a r d 4 5 - f o o t length. Hence, for a period of a few years, MCI was building buses in three countries
Meanwhile, MCI had acquired the former Flxible facility in Loudonville, Ohio, in 1996 after Flxible ceased production Both new coach parts and aftermarket bus parts were built there The facility soon developed an excellent reputation for collision repair, major refurbishing and drive train updates
If you were watching closely, you might have noted models D, F and G but no E The M C I e n g i n e e r s w e re w o r k i n g o n t h e n e w model “E” in Winnipeg. With the “D” model a n d i t s p re d e c e s s o r s h o l d i n g a n e x c e l l e n t
reputation as a durable scheduled service c o a c h , M C I s e t a b o u t d e v e l o p i n g a n e w model geared to the upscale charter and tour market It included new web frame construct i o n f o r m o r e d e s i g n p o t e n t i a l a s w e l l a s some improved systems It was introduced in 1998 as the Renaissance or 102E3 model a n d a c h i e v e d s o m e s u b s t a n t i a l s u c c e s s because of its attractive appearance
A n i n t e r e s t i n g s i d e n o t e i s t h a t 1 9 9 8 marked a high point in coach sales Major factors included a good economy and an increase in new coach sales as operators moved from the 40- to the 45-foot length It is interesting that a previous high point in coach sales was noted 50 years earlier when Greyhound was taking delivery of 2,000 Silversides coaches in 1948 to renew its post-war fleet.
The connection between Dina and MCI became strained because of economic problems in Mexico and financial concerns with Dina. The Mexican economy started having problems Mexican bus sales dropped and t h e M e x i c a n P e s o w a s d e v a l u e d A f a i l e d Dina contract with Western Star Trucks may a l s o h a v e b e e n a m a j o r f a c t o r M C I I s o o n began overshadowing Dina and accounted for more than 90 percent of Dina’s operating profit Dina began taking on debt and eventually owed $700 million. The profit from MCI was used to service some of this debt With Dina stock and notes essentially worthless, MCII was again saddled with debt as money went to another company
Part Three of the MCI history will appear in a future issue It will start around the turn of the
century and bring the MCI story up to the current date
The 797-cubic inch Hall Scott gas engine belched to life. A massive 13 liters displacem e n t p u t t i n g o u t a ro m p i n ’ s t o m p i n ’ 1 9 0 H P p u s h e d t h e 2 0 , 0 0 0 + p o u n d b u s t o i t s g o v e r n e d s p e e d o f 6 0 m . p . h . a t a n a v e r a g e of 4 m p g The Honda used in retracing the route had 179 HP (from 1 5 liters) Top speed is classified out of respect for the Statute of L i m i t a t i o n s
Off we went towards Chicago Even the g e o g r a p h i c a l l y c h a l l e n g e d k n o w t h a t Chicago is not between Baltimore and Colorado We took the Pennsylvania turnpike and the toll roads because the interstate was not complete. We stopped at an “Oasis” south of Chicago late at night It was misty, but you could see a smudge of light that was the distant city, and wondered if we would ever see it close up The stop was necessitated by the fact that Brills did not have lavatories. Apparently, prior to 1947 people did not have to go to the bathroom
We then turned south on old Route 66 to head for St Louis and the partially complete I n t e r s t a t e 7 0 N o r m a l l y o n e d r i v e r w o u l d sleep while the other drove, but this section o f R o u t e 6 6 h a d ( i f m e m o r y s e r v e s ) 11 r a i l c ro s s i n g s , a n d B r i l l s h a d “ v i r t u a l b r a k e s ” O n e g u y d r o v e w h i l e t h e o t h e r s e r v e d a s lookout, in hopes this early warning system w o u l d a l l o w s t o p p i n g b e f o re t h e r a i l ro a d tracks Halting astride the rails was bad form and attracted locomotives
In McLean, Illinois the coach pulled into the Dixie Truckers Home – my first real truck stop They pumped more than 100 gallons of gas into the coach, costing ALMOST $30. By now my 16-year-old self was agog at the wisdom and skill of our drivers Dick and Bill w e r e j u s t s h y o f 2 3 , a n d k n e w t h e i r w a y around the world I wanted to be like them Roaring across the Mississippi into St. Louis a n d o n t o I - 7 0 , D i c k a n d B i l l s t a r t e d n o t i n g the highway mileposts It turned out that Missouri’s weigh stations periodically posted a sign that said “busses weigh,” and they knew where the stations lurked
In A u g u s t o f 1 9 6 3 a b u n c h o f m y c l a s sm a t e s a n d I p i l e d o n t o a 1 9 4 7 I C 4 1 B r i l l a n d h e a d e d n o r t h w e s t f ro m B a l t i m o re For years I have wanted to retrace that journ e y b e c a u s e i t p ro f o u n d l y i n f l u e n c e d m y l i f e , a n d t h e re w e re a f e w m y s t e r i e s a b o u t the route. We were headed toward a Christ i a n y o u t h r a n c h i n C o l o r a d o , w h e r e t h e organization hoped to make me into a good person. The jury is still out on that, but they d i d , f o r s u re , t u r n m e i n t o a b u s g u y
We m i l l e d a b o u t t h e Wo o d l a w n H i g h parking lot while the drivers packed luggage into the rear trunk and under the raised seat p l a t f o r m . B r i l l s h a d a p a n c a k e e n g i n e a n d minimal storage, so loading was an art form We w i s h e d t h e y w o u l d h u r r y, b e c a u s e w e wanted to escape our hovering parents. Not only was the trunk small, the door springs had apparently been procured from a bear trap factory. A couple of years later I slammed the door on my boss’s arm Bob (a Methodist
Bureaucrats can not spell “buses” but if t h a t p l a c a rd w a s h a n g i n g f ro m t h e s c a l e ’ s sign Dick and Bill had to do some fancy a d j u s t i n g B r i l l s h a d h e a v y re a r e n d s , s o a bunch of kids had to crawl forward, and hide in the aisle, until we had crossed the scale Even then it was not politically correct to tell the fat kids they had to sit up front. Years later c ru i s i n g b y i n m y H o n d a , t h e p l a c a rd w a s still there, still misspelled. Those scale guys are freaking persistent
Roaring west I asked Bill about the roari n g I t t u r n s o u t t h a t f o u r - i n c h f l e x p i p e m a k e s a g o o d re p l a c e m e n t f o r a B r i l l m u ff l e r, a n d c o s t s l e s s . T h e r e w a s a n a d d e d a d v a n t a g e w h e n c o n v o y i n g a t n i g h t E a c h
This photo shows the s a m e B r i l l i n a s i d e view. Underfloor lugg a g e s p a c e w a s restricted on the Brills b e c a u s e t h e y w e r e powered by an underfloor Hall-Scott gasol i n e e n g i n e t h a t r a n well but had high fuel consumption. Several p e o p l e h a v e s u gg e s t e d t h a t t h e B r i l l s t a r t e d t h e c l i c h e a b o u t b e i n g a b l e t o p a s s a n y t h i n g b u t a gas station.
b u s t o rc h e d a f o o t o f b l u e f l a m e o u t o f i t s e x h a u s t , e a s y t o k e e p t r a c k o f e a c h o t h e r If the police ever replaced radar with heat s e e k i n g m i s s i l e s , w e w o u l d b e t o a s t ( p u n i n t e n d e d )
After crossing into Kansas, we climbed o n t o t h e G re a t P l a i n s . F o r t h o s e w h o h a v e not done it, the prairie is – large Then, and n o w, i t t a k e s a b o u t 1 0 h o u r s t o d r i v e i t I t i s l i k e c r o s s i n g a n o c e a n s p r i n k l e d w i t h c o w s , e x c e p t t h e s e d a y s t h e re a re a t o n o f w i n d t u r b i n e s N o w c o m e s t h e m y s t e r y
A ro u n d m i d n i g h t i n w e s t e r n K a n s a s w e d r o p p e d o f f t h e h i g h w a y i n O a k l e y a n d crossed into Colorado near Arapahoe. We cruised through Cheyenne Wells, Kit Cars o n a n d a b u n c h o f q u i e t t o w n s v e r y s l o w l y. D i c k e x p l a i n e d t h a t t h e y t r i e d t o a v o i d u s i n g t h e b r a k e s o r c l u t c h , t i m i n g stop lights and double clutching clutchless ( Ye s , t h a t i s a t h i n g )
I t t u r n s o u t t h a t t h e B r i l l s ’ c l u t c h l i n ka g e a n d b r a k e s w e re u n re l i a b l e , a n d t h i s w a s g o o d t r a i n i n g f o r t h e i n e v i t a b l e f a i lu re s . T h e y p r a c t i c e d t h e o l o g i c a l m a i n t enance Brill parts were hard to find, so they c a r r i e d a l l t h e i r s p a r e s w i t h t h e m T h e y t ru s t e d P ro v i d e n c e t o i n s u re t h a t t h e o n l y things that would break were parts where t h e y h a d a re p l a c e m e n t o n b o a rd . A p p a re n t l y i t w o r k e d , b e c a u s e n o n e o f t h e i r B r i l l s e v e r ro d e a h o o k
We c ru i s e d n e a r l y a n h o u r o n t h e t w olane at night without passing another vehic l e . A t d a w n , a s w e l e f t t h e p r a i r i e n e a r Canon City, we could see the sun lighting t h e s u m m i t o f P i k e s P e a k , 4 5 m i l e s t o t h e northwest Years later (after learning mapreading) I asked why we had zig-zagged so m u c h . I w a s t o l d t h e d i re c t ro u t e t h ro u g h C o l o r a d o S p r i n g s i n v o l v e d c l i m b i n g t h e back of Pikes Peak, a daunting task for the aging Brills. The real reason is that JJ, the guy who put the trip together, was thrifty Col-
orado had a “ton mile” tax that was collected at “Ports of Entry ” You could avoid paying the tax by circumnavigating the Ports. Mystery solved
Ye a r s l a t e r w e d i s c o v e r e d a s i m p l e r method The scheduled Trailways buses into Colorado Springs simply drove by the Port, f l a s h i n g t h e i r m a r k e r l i g h t s T h e o f f i c e r recorded the passing, and billed Trailways Well heck, our marker lights flashed too, so why stop? We were on our way to becoming bussy juvenile delinquents
C a n o n C i t y i s a n i f t y t o w n , n e s t l e d b e a u t i f u l l y a t t h e e d g e o f t h e m o u n t a i n s w h e re t h e A r k a n s a s R i v e r e x i t s t h e R o y a l
Gorge My most vivid memory of it centers a ro u n d a h a m b u rg e r L e t s f a c e i t , y o u d o n o t g e t a b o d y l i k e m i n e w i t h o u t w o r k i n g a t i t B i l l a n d D i c k p u l l e d i n t o a p l a c e t h a t s e r v e d t h e l a rg e s t h a m b u rg e r s I h a d e v e r s e e n P a s s i n g t h ro u g h m o re t h a n 5 0 y e a r s l a t e r, I g o o g l e d “ C a n o n C i t y b i g b u rg e r, ” and it is still there. Age catches up with us all, so I was only able to eat the large eightounce burger (as opposed to the gigundous o n e s t i l l o n t h e m e n u ) .
Royal Gorge is stunning with near vertic a l w a l l s o n b o t h s i d e s , c a r v e d b y t h e Arkansas River over a bazilion years The highway parallels the rapids beneath huge c l i f f s , a n d o n t h e o t h e r s i d e i s a r a i l - b e d
On the original trip in August of 1963 the bus stopped at a local hamburger place along the route. Retracing the route decades later, Dave was able to find the same location This time there was no IC-41 Brill parked nearby
backed by more cliffs In ye olden days two railroads competed laying track on either side of the river. The first one to get finished won a big contract, the other went to choochoo hell. According to lore, every day the opposing workmen shot at each other, and no one was ever hit
The Gorge has a personal history for me
It was here that I learned the art of, well –lying. As Dick drove, Bill wandered the aisle teaching us the natural history of the canyon At one point, due to an optical illusion, the Arkansas appears to flow uphill, and according to Bill, this is the only place in the world where gravity fails.
As we emerged into the Arkansas River Valley, Bill pointed out white patches above a mountain’s tree line “This is where clouds come to die Those are dead clouds ” It was leftover snow Of course there was still the occasional problem with Native Americans
According to Bill “Beware of Falling Rock” signs referenced Falling Rock, a Ute warrior who had never surrendered, and sometimes harassed unwary tourists.
O n t h e re c e n t t r i p I f o l l o w e d a 4 5 - f o o t coach along the same route, and envied the driver The bus had power steering, an automatic transmission, real brakes, and most i m p o r t a n t , a PA s y s t e m f o r i n f o r m i n g t h e passengers about Falling Rock
O u r d e s t i n a t i o n w a s a r a n c h h i g h o n t h e s i d e o f M o u n t P r i n c e t o n n e a r B u e n a Vista The only way in was to climb above i t , a n d d e s c e n d a s t e e p d i r t ro a d T h e b u s b a n k e d l i k e a W W I I f i g h t e r t u r n i n g o n t o a s t r a f i n g r u n W h a t w e d i d n o t k n o w ( u n t i l a w e e k l a t e r, a s w e d e p a r t e d ) i s t h a t t h e w a y o u t w a s e v e n s c a r i e r. I t w a s t o o steep to leave the way we entered, and the d i r t ro a d e x i t w a s n e a r l y v e r t i c a l o n b o t h s h o u l d e r s , u p o n t h e l e f t s i d e a n d d o w n a c l i ff o n t h e r i g h t O n e t u r n w a s s o t r i c k y that professional drivers who had brought in charters would ask our boss to have one of our guys drive them out He would look a ro u n d t h e ro o m , a n d p i c k t h e o n e o f u s w h o l o o k e d y o u n g e s t
The return trip was tragically uneventful We knew kids who had come on these trips, and they all had breakdowns. We felt cheated, hoping for extra time and advent u re B y n o w y o u a re a s k i n g , “ W h a t i s t h e p o i n t ? ”
As a result of this (and subsequent) trips, I began my journey to the exalted position as the Bus Industry’s Official “Bad Examp l e . ” L e s t y o u d o u b t m y q u a l i f i c a t i o n s , i t was published in Bus and Motorcoach News, so it must be right It is a proud title because t h e r e w a s a t o n o f c o m p e t i t i o n – m o s t l y folks I worked with in that same organizat i o n I t i s i m p o r t a n t t o c o n s i d e r w h o i s behind you. Dick and Bill had no idea that the inquisitive kid riding (and chattering)
behind them would become enamored with b u s e s a n d t r a v e l , i n p a r t b e c a u s e o f t h e i r skill and personalities
Those people behind us will be left with m e m o r i e s , s o m e b i g , s o m e s e e m i n g l y i n s i g n i f i c a n t ( b u t c o l o r f u l a n d f u n ) D i x i e Truckers Home? Really? One of the reasons why the bus industry is so rewarding is that
we take people places that make their lives b e t t e r F r e q u e n t l y i t i s i n l i t t l e w a y s , b u t sometimes life changing We often have no idea how, but when we do our jobs right, we make things better
Bus travel has changed a lot since 1963, but that has not q
Throughout my 23-year association with NATIONAL BUS TRADER as a writer/columnist, the magazine has always tried to avoid political comments and inferences Hard as we tried, this was often difficult Most challenging were articles reflecting government a l o r p o l i t i c a l f a i l u r e s , a t a l l l e v e l s t h a t , episode by episode, sent the public transportation industry into decline Examples include:
• Most directly affecting the motorcoach sector, the failure to allow the Federal Motor C a r r i e r S a f e t y A d m i n i s t r a t i o n t o c o n t ro l “shift inversion” (see multiple articles about fatigue and hours-of-service, including five i n s t a l l m e n t s a b o u t “ B u s L a g ” –https://transalt com/article/bus-lag-part1 - n o n - d r i v i n g - o f f - d u t y - a n d - a w a k e - t h ew h o l e - t i m e - o n - h o s - r e q u i r e m e n t s / ; https://transalt com/article/bus-lag-part2-on-duty-driving-and-sound-asleep-thel i m i t s - o f - h o s - r e q u i r e m e n t s / ; https://transalt.com/article/bus-lag-part3-the-invisible-log/; https://transalt com/ a r t i c l e / b u s - l a g - p a r t - 4 - t h e - i n v i s i b l e - l o gredux-logs-black-boxes-and-spoliation/ and https://transalt.com/article/bus-lag-part5-skipping-the-in-between/)
With fares that low, few taxis were available during the AM or PM rush hours
So too would have been trolley service, had most transit agencies not aband o n e d i t s h o r t l y b e f o r e t h e s e f u n d s b e c a m e available.
• The failure to stop the spread of corrupt TNCs operating virtual criminal enterprises that decimated the U.S. taxi industry and which are slowly penetrating the transit, paratransit, school bus and motorcoach sectors (see https://transalt com/article/badre g u l a t i o n s - a n d - w o r s e - re s p o n s e s - p a r t - 1i n t r o d u c t i o n / ; h t t p s : / / t r a n s a l t c o m / a r t i c l e / b a d - r e g u l a t i o n s - a n d - w o r s eresponses-part-2-the-rise-fall-and-transform a t i o n - o f - s u p e r s h u t t l e / ; h t t p s : / / transalt com/article/bad-regulations-andw o r s e - re s p o n s e s - p a r t - 3 - i n v a s i o n - o f - t h etncs/; https://transalt com/ article/badregulations-and-worse-responses-part-4-jud icial-heroism/; https:// transalt com/article/bad-regulations-and-worse-responsesp a r t - 5 - e x e c u t i v e - b r a n c h - r e s p o n s e s / ; https://transalt.com/article/bad-regulations-and-worse-responses-part-6-industrya n d - a s s o c i a t i o n - r e s p o n s e s / ; h t t p s : / / transalt com/article/bad-regulations-andworse-responses-part-7-conclusions/ and, most importantly, https://transalt com/artic l e / t r a n s p o r t a t i o n - n e t w o r k - c o m p a n i e seven-worse-than-expected/
• The inability to curtail dangerous practices counter to public health by unneeded, b l o a t e d m o n o p o l i e s l i k e A M T R A K ( s e e h t t p s : / / t r a n s a l t . c o m / a r t i c l e / c o v i d - 1 9shenanigans-and-liability-part-2-makingmoney-by-compromising-health/ ) or to fail to regulate the commercial airline industry (see https://transalt.com/article/expandi n g - t h e - m o d e - s p l i t - d i v i d i n g - l i n e - p a r t - 1exponential-airline-industry-corruption/ )
All these articles, like most others, were d e s i g n e d t o h e l p k e e p m o t o r c o a c h providers, drivers and their passengers safe, and to help keep the industry prosperous –and to keep them aware of trends in other modes that are already affecting the health of the motorcoach sector
A r e c e n t d e c i s i o n b y t h e D i s t r i c t o f Columbia’s City Council made the separation of technical issues from politics increasingly difficult, and in many cases impossible O n Tu e s d a y, D e c e m b e r 6 , 2 0 2 2 , t h e C i t y Council voted to eliminate transit fares altogether, beginning on July 1, 2023 One can only wonder why it would take this long –unless the implementation date is itself political. After all, eliminating fares for transit during the early explosion of COVID took most transit agencies only a day or two to put into effect
I fi r s t m o v e d t o t h e D i s t r i c t i n t h e l a t e Summer of 1969, to attend my one-and-only semester of law school at George Washingt o n U n i v e r s i t y U n a b l e t o p a r k t h e r e ( o r unable to afford it), I took a bus from upper Wisconsin Avenue to the campus. On lower Wi s c o n s i n Av e n u e , I d i s t i n c t l y re m e m b e r the bus skidding occasionally (not dangerously) on the still-exposed trolley tracks –remnants of the days where unsubsidized service was prolific, with a mix of old-fashioned light rail and bus service Prices were very different back then I recall being able to ride, by taxi, from Georgetown to the Capital Building, for 90 cents – according to the antiquated zonal fare structure then in place
Thanks to capital assistance from the Federal Transit Administation (FTA) – formerly the the Urban Mass Transportation Administration (UMTA), originally housed in the Department of Housing and Urban Development, that began in 1964 – and operating assistance that began in 1967 (when USDOT was formed), buses were abundant So too would have been trolley service, had most t r a n s i t a g e n c i e s n o t a b a n d o n e d i t s h o r t l y before these funds became available
In 1975, the District opened the first segment of its new heavy rail system, stretching f ro m D u p o n t C i rc l e ( w h e re I l i v e d a t t h a t t i m e ) t o t h e C a p i t o l B u i l d i n g T h e s y s t e m eventually expanded to six lines (totaling 129 miles of double-sided track) and 97 stations – with several lines extending into Virginia and Maryland By 2020, according to the New York Times (see https://www.nytimes.com/ 2 0 2 0 / 0 4 / 0 9 / u p s h o t / t r a n s i t - b a t t e re d - b ycoronavirus html?action=click&module= To p % 2 0 S t o r i e s & p g t y p e = H o m e p a g e ) , t h e District’s overall transit system – including its costly complementary paratransit system – w a s , i n 2 0 2 0 , c o v e r i n g 2 5 p e r c e n t o f i t s operating costs from fare box revenues – the t h i rd h i g h e s t i n t h e n a t i o n . A s a p l a n n i n g m a t t e r, W M AT C ’ s s i x s u b w a y l i n e s m a d e sense Los Angeles’ transit system covered only nine percent of its operating costs with fare box revenue. Dense San Francisco covered only 13 percent Now, in mid-2023, San Francisco’s system is covering far less of its operating costs from the fare box – following not only the ridership disaster that COVID19 brought about, but two previous years of ro u g h l y a 1 0 p e rc e n t d e c l i n e i n r i d e r s h i p , nationwide
The District obviously covered none of the costs of its school bus service from pas-
M o s t c h a l l e n g i n g w e r e articles reflecting governmental or political failures.
s e n g e r f a re s – a l t h o u g h t h e s e c o s t s re fl e c t the provision of virtually no general educat i o n s e r v i c e w h a t s o e v e r, w h i l e p ro v i d i n g extraordinarily-wasteful special education school bus service. On a consulting project on which I served related to a class action l a w s u i t ( P e t t i e s v D i s t r i c t o f C o l u m b i a School District), the District’s fleet of only full-size school buses averaged four students per bus per run The chaos and waste were extraordinary The lawsuit was resolved by placing the system into “receivership ” So disenchanted was the District with “transp o r t a t i o n p ro f e s s i o n a l s ” t h a t t h e re c e i v e r s e l e c t e d t o d i re c t t h i s s y s t e m s o p e r a t i o n s was a company with zero experience in the provision of any form of transportation.
Now, beginning this coming July 1, 2023, every dime of the District’s transit system’s operating costs will be provided by Federal and District subsidy funds – with obviously no state funding, since the District is still a c re a t u re o f t h e F e d e r a l g o v e r n m e n t , a n d does not even have a Congressional representative (but a “non-voting delegate”)
Unlike King Kong, twasn’t beauty that killed this beast It was ignorance, waste and stupidity Yet the frightening implications for other U S transit systems is that this system, as noted, had the nation’s second-highest fare recovery ratio less than three years ago A year before COVID-19 largely shut down transit ridership, Kansas City’s system eliminated fares altogether. The Kansas City A re a Tr a n s p o r t a t i o n A u t h o r i t y ( K C ATA ) had been covering only eight percent of its costs from fare box revenues The article cove r i n g t h i s s t u n n i n g e v e n t o m i t t e d s u c h points, as well as almost everything in this NATIONAL BUS TRADER article
T h e p o i n t i s : W h a t d o e s t h e D i s t r i c t ’ s a b a n d o n m e n t o f f a re s p o r t e n d f o r t h e re s t o f t h e c o u n t r y ’ s t r a n s i t s y s t e m s ? R e a d e r s m u s t k e e p i n m i n d t h a t p u b l i c t r a n s i t i n t h e U . S . a l m o s t d i e d i n t h e l a t e 1 9 5 0 s a n d e a r l y 1 9 6 0 s A s n o t e d , i t w a s o n l y re s c u e d i n 1 9 6 4 b y P r e s i d e n t J o h n s o n ’ s M o d e l Cities Program (which paid for 80 percent of every urban area’s buses and other capi t a l c o s t s ) , a n d , t h r e e y e a r s l a t e r, b y t h e addition of operating subsidies Ten years later, the nation’s overall fare box recovery r a t i o h a d s h ru n k t o 5 0 p e rc e n t . N o w, w i t h t h e D i s t r i c t ’ s a b a n d o n m e n t o f f a re s , s y st e m s a re g r a d u a l l y b e i n g s u p p o r t e d c o mpletely with local, state and Federal rescue funds – which, frankly, is what these funds genuinely are (and have always been) Othe r w i s e , o u r n a t i o n ’ s t r a n s i t s y s t e m s h a v e c o m e a l o n g w a y s i n c e 1 9 7 7 – w h e n f a re s c o v e re d 5 0 p e rc e n t o f o p e r a t i n g c o s t s – t o today, when the nation’s most efficient system (New York City’s NYCTA) was cover-
i n g o n l y 3 5 p e rc e n t o f i t s c o s t s j u s t b e f o re C O V I D s t ru c k
Along with abandoning fares, the District also decided to expand service on several lines to operate “around-the-clock” to support riders on several of the system’s busiest ro u t e s w h o o t h e r w i s e h a d b e e n f o rc e d t o often rely upon costly ride-share service during hours after which Metrobus and Metrorail service ceased operations (One can only wonder what happened to the District’s taxi services, decimated by TNCs like Uber and Lyft, as were taxi services in most U S cities beginning roughly a decade ago)
A c c o rd i n g t o T h e Wa s h i n g t o n P o s t , t h e e f f o r t “ a l i g n s w i t h t h e c i t y ’ s g o a l s o f increasing transit usage and removing vehicles from clogged city streets” – although one suspects that few of these streets were c l o g g e d a t 3 a m o n t h o s e l i n e s n o w ru nn i n g a ro u n d - t h e - c l o c k F u r t h e r, T h e P o s t noted that the elimination of fares “will give lower income residents with limited transp o r t a t i o n o p t i o n s m o re fi n a n c i a l s e c u r i t y in one of the nation’s most expensive cities, while also removing a burden for job seeke r s a n d b u s i n e s s e s s t r u g g l i n g w i t h l a b o r shortages ” Frankly, as a technical opinion, I hardly think that paying two $2 bus fares per shift would deter someone from worki n g a n y h i g h - p a y i n g j o b . B u t f e w o f t h e s e high-paying jobs operated in the wee hours o f t h e m o r n i n g I n s t e a d , t h a t $ 4 / s h i f t w o u l d p o s e a h a r d s h i p o n a l m o s t e v e r y l o w - p a i d e m p l o y e e t r a v e l i n g t o o r f r o m work during these hours
As a minor political aside, all 13 council members voted for this measure. However, at the time that The Post article was written, the measure still required a final vote at the n e x t c o u n c i l m e e t i n g , a n d w o u l d t h e n b e sent to the Mayor ’s desk (for whatever reason; The Post did not indicate whether the Mayor ’s approval was necessary) However, The Post article did note that Mayor Muriel E . B o w s e r ( D ) “ . . . h a d u r g e d l e a d e r s t o re j e c t t h e p l a n a n d i n c l u d e i t i n t h e c i t y ’ s annual budget planning process for additional review, citing cost concerns ”
Of course, the notion of “citing cost concerns” must be a joke from the City’s Department of Redundancy Otherwise, The Post explained, helpfully, that this outcome had e v o l v e d i n c re m e n t a l l y, l a rg e l y f ro m f a re r e d u c t i o n s , fi r s t , f o r c h i l d r e n , a n d t h e n e x p a n d e d f o r e l d e r l y a n d d i s a b l e d r i d e r s (whereas The Post failed to mention that disabled riders were already entitled to ride at “half fare” via the Americans with Disabilities Act – although it did state that METRO “also discounted trips for seniors without d i s a b i l i t i e s , ” t h e f o r m e r o f w h o m a re n o t entitled to discount fares under the ADA,
but who are still given discounted trips by almost every transit system in the nation)
Then, of course, came the Pandemic, during which many systems eliminated fares because passengers had to enter the vehicle via the rear door, and remain in the middle and rear of the bus, for social-distancing reasons. Needless to say, this practice only protected the drivers It did not social distance any passengers from one another
Another fascinating political twist is that, w h i l e s o m e f u n d i n g f o r t h e D i s t r i c t ’ s M E T R O i s p ro v i d e d b y s e l e c t c o u n t i e s i n n e i g h b o r i n g Vi rg i n i a a n d M a r y l a n d ( a n d possibly state funds, according to the table in the New York Times article cited above) –while The Post noted that more than 80 perc e n t o f r i d e r s l i v e d i n t h e D i s t r i c t , t h o s e boarding the system at Virginia and Maryland stations would still be required to pay the standard fare (This means, presumably, that travel in the opposing direction would not involve any fares if and when those riders boarded at stations within the District )
According to The Post, eliminating fares a l t o g e t h e r w a s $ 4 2 m i l l i o n l e s s e x p e n s i v e than a former hair-brained plan [my chara c t e r i z a t i o n , n o t T h e P o s t ’ s ] t o p ro v i d e a l l city residents with a $100/month credit for u s e o n M e t r o b u s , M e t r o r a i l a n d o t h e r regional transit providers More equitable, at least that plan would have applied to Virg i n i a a n d M a r y l a n d re s i d e n t s Wi t h i n t h e debate about the proposal, one council member (Kenyan R McDuffie (D) “wondered if D C would end up paying for the bus rides o f p e o p l e w h o l i v e o u t s i d e t h e D i s t r i c t ” Oddly, the notion that these two states, or s e l e c t c o u n t i e s w i t h i n t h e m , c o n t r i b u t e d funds toward the construction of the Metror a i l s y s t e m , a n d l i k e l y c o n t r i b u t e d t o WMATC’s operating costs, did not surface. Instead, there were a considerable number of concerns that District funds would ‘crosss u b s i d i z e ” t r a n s p o r t a t i o n f o r re s i d e n t s i n surrounding states. Otherwise, representatives from counties surrounding and adjacent to the District were entertaining similar c u t s t o t h e i r s e r v i c e s – F a i r f a x , Vi rg i n i a ’ s “ F a i r f a x C o n n e c t o r ” a n d M o n t g o m e r y County, Marylands’ “RideOn ”
No one realized that eliminating fares would obviously increase demand.
c o n c e r n i s , i f y o u g o t o t a l l y f r e e o u t o f nowhere, what happens if we get so overw h e l m e d a n d c a n ’ t k e e p u p w i t h t h e s e rvice?” This comment suggests that no one realized that eliminating fares would obvio u s l y i n c r e a s e d e m a n d , a n d t o m e e t i t , additional service would almost certainly be needed, raising operating and subsidy costs (which would be the same when fares were eliminated) even further
A s a t r a n s p o r t a t i o n p l a n n e r w h o h a s designed a small city’s transit system from scratch (see https://transalt com/wp-content/uploads/2018/08/carson circuit map big jpg and https://transalt com/wp-content/uploads/2018/08/carson circuit sche dule large jpg ) – much less several paratransit systems, I find it curious that no one suggested that the system might be restructured, or service improved (notwithstanding adding service to a few “owl runs”), to minimize these additional costs Again, actually d e s i g n i n g t r a n s i t s y s t e m s i n t h e U n i t e d States is an exercise of the distant past (see https://transalt com/article/making-publ i c - t r a n s p o r t a t i o n - w o r k - p a r t - 4 - s y s t e mdesign-and-networks/)
The main point of this article could have been made without a shred of the last sect i o n I n s t e a d , i t w a s i n c l u d e d ( N AT I O N A L BUS TRADER’s thanks to The Washington Post) t o p ro v i d e f u t u re d e c i s i o n - m a k e r s f a c i n g similar decisions (or at least NATIONAL BUS TRADER readers) with a feel for the types of factors, concerns and justifications that feed into such serious decisions, delerious as they may be
the nation’s highest percentage of low-paid, m i n o r i t y r e s i d e n t s – i n a n e n v i r o n m e n t w h e r e t h e c o s t - o f - l i v i n g i s c o n s i d e r a b l y higher than in most parts of the country One would be naïve to think that these same decisions would have been made in a major city in the South, where depriving poor residents of services (six states still do not accept Medi c a i d a s s i s t a n c e ) i s l a rg e l y a m a j o r g o a l o f half the voters
In simple terms, this means that in many cities, the city council members would not likely choose to eliminate fares They would choose to eliminate transit service – or possibly reduce it to a skeleton – as did many or most U.S. transit agencies in the last 1950s and early 1960s before President Johnson’s Model Cities Program, and creation of the U S Department of Transportation came to the rescue with capital and operating assistance, respectively
S u c h n o t i o n s d i d n o t e s c a p e s o m e b y s t a n d e r s i n t e r v i e w e d f o r t h e a r t i c l e B r o c k e l l e N e l s o n ( a M a r y l a n d r e s i d e n t ) stated that “rather than relying on METRO t o h i re m o re d r i v e r s a n d b o o s t re l i a b i l i t y, i t m a d e s e n s e t o p ro v i d e re l i e f i n a n o t h e r way.” In the Land of Reason, of course, hiri n g a d d i t i o n a l d r i v e r s w o u l d n o t “ b o o s t ” reliability in any way, shape or form Only adding adequate running time to the routes could have done so. Otherwise, none of the c o u n c i l p e r s o n s c o n c e d i n g f a re s a p p e a r t o h a v e c o n s i d e re d a l t e r n a t i v e s l i k e a c t u a l l y i m p ro v i n g t h e s y s t e m
Alluding again to Kansas City (the first m a j o r c i t y t o e l i m i n a t e t r a n s i t f a r e s , a s n o t e d ) , K C ATA’ s D e p u t y C h i e f D i r e c t o r Richard Jarrold, noted (about its elimination of fares) that, “the ease of boarding without paying helped to maintain ridership during the pandemic and propelled the transit system’s recovery.” As a transportation professional, I find it puzzling how the “ease” or convenience of not paying a fare, rather than the fare itself, helped maintain ridership –much less contributed to the systems’ recovery – unless recovery was measured solely by ridership increases
Regarding the motorcoach sector, such decisions – as they are replicated from city to city – are of critical importance While it was not mentioned in The Post article, many cities have increasingly dealt with the financ i a l c o n s e q u e n c e s o f d e c re a s e d r i d e r s h i p (note again that, nationwide, transit ridership had decreased by roughly 10 percent during the two years preceding the emergence of COVID-19) by contracting service o u t S u c h t r a n s i t i o n s i n d e e d c re a t e a d d itional opportunities for motorcoach operators, as well as newcomers to the industry C o m p a re d t o t h e e x t r a o rd i n a r y y e t c o mp l e t e l y - i g n o re d o p p o r t u n i t i e s f o r m o t o rc o a c h i n d u s t r y e x p a n s i o n a n d p ro s p e r i t y noted in several National Bus Trader articles this past year (see https://transalt.com/article/survival-and-prosperity-part-1-magicc o r r i d o r s / ; h t t p s : / / t r a n s a l t c o m / article/survival-and-prosperity-part-2-themagic-coach/; https://transalt.com/artic l e / s u r v i v a l - a n d - p ro s p e r i t y - p a r t - 3 - t h egains-of-winning-the-cost-of-failure/ and https://transalt com/article/survival-andp r o s p e r i t y - p a r t - 4 - s e r v i c e - c o n c e p t s / ) , defaulting to the contractor of a transit system besieged by financial problems – and, when not all routes are contracted out, given the tightest routes which most in-house drivers loath – will almost always translate into low-paid drivers forced to operate in a harried environment, particularly as all or most schedules will be too tight, and the competitive bid process will usually yield the contractor willing to pay its drivers the lowest wages and least (or no) benefits
T h e r e i s a r e a s o n w h y t h e d i s c u s s i o n a b o v e i s h e a v i l y p o l i t i c a l l y c h a rg e d T h i s decision was made, unanimously, by what I s u s p e c t w e r e 1 3 D e m o c r a t s ( o r m o s t l y Democrats) in a large city containing one of
Particularly in a nation whose transportation professionals effectively abandoned any responsibility for designing a transit system, and where institution after institution failed t o c u r t a i l t h e e x p a n s i o n o f “ d i s ru p t e r s ” –l i k e t r a n s p o r t a t i o n n e t w o r k c o m p a n i e s (TNCs) – from further contributing to the thinning out of transit ridership and the need for greater levels of subsidy funds, future decisions about eliminating fares versus serv i c e a l t o g e t h e r w i l l a l m o s t n e v e r i n v o l v e t e c h n i c a l c o n c e r n s T h e s e d e b a t e s w i l l b e purely political Increasingly, it will become h a rd e r a n d h a rd e r t o d i s c u s s m o s t i s s u e s r e l a t e d t o a n y a n d e v e r y m o d e o f p u b l i c t r a n s p o r t a t i o n w i t h o u t f o c u s i n g m u c h o r most of the discussion on politics
In even discussing the fare versus service issue in broad terms, there was not enough space in this article to include the impacts o f t h i s t r a d e - o ff o n d i s a b l e d p u b l i c t r a n sportation passengers whose disabilities force most of them to travel on costly complimentary paratransit services whose design is sign i fi c a n t l y w o r s e t h a n t h e d e s i g n o f fi x e d route services
A s n o t e d i n p r e v i o u s N AT I O N A L B U S TRADER articles, other than on the first day o f t h e s c h o o l y e a r, m a n y e a r l y s c h o o l b u s services (provided by buckboards) did not even require a driver The horse memorized the route from his or her first outing. This fact does not speak well of U S transportation officials, technically oriented or otherwise It speaks volumes about the reality of this industry in this country, where former technical decisions have given way to political decisions
If one thinks that we are a polarized society now, just wait until entire cities in some
O n l y a d d i n g a d e q u a t e running time to the routes could have done so.
S u c h t r a n s i t i o n s i n d e e d create additional opport u n i t i e s f o r m o t o r c o a c h operators as well as newcomers to the industr y
parts of the country eliminate their public transit systems. Particularly in those large c i t i e s w i t h h e a v y r a i l s y s t e m s , o r e v e n medium-sized cities with light rail systems, think of the funds squandered – funds that supported the construction of services only t o b e ab andoned a few decades aft er t hey were constructed (The previous near-abandonment of a nation full of trolley systems is only an asterisk.) With more than 69,000 h o m e l e s s p e o p l e i n L o s A n g e l e s , w h o s e principle county-wide transit system recovered only nine percent of its operating costs b e f o re C O V I D re d u c e d t h a t l e v e l , a n d i n which the first three subway lines built in the early 1980s placed the County $7B billion i n d e b t , j u s t t h i n k a b o u t t h e f u n d s s q u a ndered in just four decades if its transit system is abandoned – blue state and blue county notwithstanding
If the United States physically becomes two countries – even if it remains one geographically, politically and militarily – the re t e n t i o n v e r s u s a b a n d o n m e n t o f p u b l i c transit service could define the dividing line. One could easily characterize a nation where this occurs as a failed state
Other than opinion pieces in major newsp a p e r s , a n d a n o
i n e , o n e will not likely encounter an article like this one in what is largely a “trade magazine ” In most trade magazines, journalism is rare, and truth and importance succumb to the n e e d t o a t t r a ct a dv e r t i se r s Th e l a u g h i n gstock that public transit officials are for their f o c u s o n “ t e c h n o l o g y ” a s t h e c u r e f o r decades of inexcusable failures will continue t o i g n o re t h e c o n t r i b u t i o n s t h e s e f a i l u re s made to the decline – and likely disappearance – of fixed route transit service in many parts of the country
With a dose of sodium pentothal, most of the elected officials and other decisionmakers who sank the transit ship will sing o u t l o u d t h e o p e n i n g l y r i c s f r o m a w e l lk n o w n , f a m o u s p o p u l a r s o n g : “ I a m t h e Great Pretender.” Regrettably, the pretenders have lost Pretenders usually do
The opinions expressed in this article are that of the author and do not necessarily represent the opinions of National Bus Trader, Inc or its staff and management. q
Ned Einstein is the president of Transportation Alternatives (www transalt com [1]), a p u b l i c t r a n s p o r t a t i o n w i t n e s s fi r m . Einstein (einstein@transit com) specializes in catastrophic motorcoach accidents
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Since we rearely get to see movie buses in action, here are two more photos of the movie buses going to the bus museum
O n e o f t h e T D H 5 1 0 6 t r a n i s t b u s e s g e t s ready for a city movie scene. We suspect that the two cars behind may be part of the shoot too. Sometimes the names on the side of the buses have to be changed for movies
This shows the Eagle Model 05 in a rather elaborate set prior to shooting Even if the b u s e s a r e o n l y u s e d a s b a c k g r o u n d , a great deal of effort might be put into the set before the cameras start rolling Note that there is even a guy standing on top of the Eagle.
Number 294 of a Series
“ T h e C u r i o u s C o a c h o w n e r ” i s a q u e s t i o n a n d a n s w e r c o l u m n t h a t p ro v i d e s s i m p l e a n s w e r s t o s i m p l e q u e s t i o n s t h a t a re t o o shor t to warrant a full ar ticle or inclusion in one of our regular columns We will accept re a s o n a b l y s i m p l e t e c h n i c a l o r h i s t o r i c a l questions on coaches, buses or even conver ted coach shells by letter, fax, e-mail or phone If our staff is unable to answer them, w e w i l l c a l l u p o n o u r p a n e l o f e x p e r t s Names and addresses should be submitted w i t h y o u r q u e s t i o n s , b u t w e w i l l w i t h h o l d n a m e s f r o m p u b l i c a t i o n o n r e q u e s t W e reserve the right to modify questions to make them more useful to our readers
Q Is it true that Volvo will no longer be building transit buses in Europe?
A This situation is unfor tunately confusing and we should be running something in our “News” section on it Let me try to relate what Volvo is doing in order to explain it properly
In March, Volvo announced that they would no longer build the bodies for their European transit buses The news release mentioned t h a t Vo l v o w a s a l re a d y d o i n g t h i s i n o t h e r markets While this would be unusual in the U n i t e d S t a t e s a n d C a n a d a w h e re t h e b i g buses are integral, it is not unusual for bus builders in some other countries where some or all of the buses are body-on-chassis
As a result of this move, Volvo will be closing their own bodybuilding factor y in Wrocław, Poland in the first quar ter of 2024
Volvo has already signed a Letter of Intent with Vargas Holding to take over this factory Vargas said the facility would be used for a new industrial project in line with their longter m and green investment strategy It was e x p e c t e d t o s t a r t o p e r a t i o n s b y t h e t h i rd quar ter of 2024 and would be able to hire some of the for mer Volvo staff
Meanwhile, Volvo has also signed a Letter o f I n t e n t w i t h t h e b o d y b u i l d e r M C V ( M a nufacturing Commercial Vehicles) in Europe t o b u i l d b o d i e s f o r i t s e l e c t r i c b u s e s f o r t h e E u ro p e a n m a r k e t T h e s e w i l l i n c l u d e t h e p o p u l a r Vo l v o 7 9 0 0 e l e c t r i c b u s a n d the 7900 electric ar ticulated bus with both two and three axles MCV was established i n 1 9 9 4 a n d c u r r e n t l y b u i l d s b u s e s f o r E u ro p e , A s i a , A u s t r a l i a , A f r i c a a n d L a t i n
A m e r i c a w i t h a c a p a c i t y o f 1 0 , 0 0 0 b u s e s a n n u a l l y
Volvo will retain control of the finished products and will continue to support customers with uptime services and spare parts Volvo said that they will work with selected external bodybuilders to provide a complete range of buses for Europe
Chassis production will remain at the Volvo p l a n t s i n B o r å s a n d U d d e v a l l a , S w e d e n Volvo mentioned that they will be investigati n g a d d i t i o n a l o f f e r i n g s w i t h o t h e r bodybuiders
Q Did the Denver RTD cancel an order for electric buses?
–– Reader in California
A Yes, but the circumstances are interesti n g a n d m i g h t b e o f v a l u e t o o t h e r t r a n s i t operations planning to go electric
D e n v e r h a s b e e n e x p e r i m e n t i n g w i t h batter y-electric buses since 2017 That is w h e n t h e n e w F r e e M a l l R i d e d o w n t o w n s t a r t e d o p e r a t i o n s w i t h b a t t e r y - e l e c t r i c buses Par t of the reason for this route was t h e l a r g e s c a l e re c o n s t r u c t i o n o f t h e 1 6 t h Street Mall
Denver set a target date of 2050 to reach zero emissions with both buses and power generation Hence, they took the next step and the RTD board approved the November 2021 order to spend up to $18 million on 17 new battery-electric buses for use on regular routes
The problem is that after the contract was signed, the RTD discovered that it lacked the space to charge, maintain and store these new buses and their related equipment
Officials estimated that they were looking at a cost of $85 million to build a new building a t o n e o f i t s g a r a g e l o c a t i o n s t o s e r v i c e these new electric buses Additional facilities like this would be needed as Denver ordered more batter y-electric buses
As a result, the RTD board approved cancelling the bus contract by a vote of 13-0 O n e s o u rc e c a l l e d i t “ a c o u r s e c o r re c t i o n a s RT D f o r g e s a p a t h t o w a rd s z e ro e m i ssions ” The RTD board also voted to authorize the general manager to solicit and hire a consultant to help the RTD draft a “holistic low/no emission facilities and fleet transition
plan ” Basically, this is intended to figure out w h a t i s n e e d e d f o r n e w b u s e s b e f o re t h e agency buys them Subjects might include s t a f fi n g n e e d s , m a i n t e n a n c e a n d s h o p space as well as power supply sources
This might serve as a “heads up” to other a g e n c i e s s e e k i n g t o c o n v e r t t o b a t t e r yelectric buses
Q Has there been any support for free transit services at the federal level?
–– Reader in Florida
A The topic of providing free bus and transit service is becoming more popular Back in the fall of 2019, the City Council of Kansas City, Missouri voted unanimously to become the first large city to make public transit free Since then, other cities are considering following in their footsteps
The latest development on the federal level came in late April when Senator Ed Markey and Congresswoman Ayanna Pressley from M a s s a c h u s e t t s a n n o u n c e d t h a t t h e y a re reintroducing a bill that could help create free public transpor tation on a nationwide basis
It might be noted that Boston already has t h r e e b u s r o u t e s t h a t a r e r u n n i n g f r e e t h r o u g h M a r c h o f 2 0 2 4 T h e s e o p e r a t e through Mattapan, Roxbury, Dorchester and Jamaica Plain
The proposed new bill is called the “Freedom to Move Act ” It provides for grants for states, counties and local municipalities to a s s i s t i n m o v i n g t o w a rd s f a re - f re e p u b l i c transpor tation
To fund these grants, the bill provides for a total of $5,000,000,000 for each fiscal year from 2024 through 2028 There is a requirement to collect data and provide repor ts on the results of the grants
T h e g r a n t s c a n b e u s e d f o r b u s n e t w o r k redesign par ticularly in regard to connectivity to critical services and improved community livability, consulting with members o f t h e c o m m u n i t y, e v a l u a t i n g e q u i t y a n d mobility gaps, additional costs of increased ridership and several other factors important to public transit
A n s w e r s n o t c re d i t e d t o o t h e r i n d i v i d u a l s are provided by Larr y Plachno q
NATIONAL BUS TRADER continues to receive requests on the availability of back issues so that readers can either locate desired information or obtain missing issues
While they last, the following back issues are available Issues beginning with June, 1979 thru c u r r e n t a r e $ 3 – U S , $ 4 5 0 – C a n a d a a n d $ 5 –International (US) each postpaid
Several issues are already “out of print,” hence we suggest that you indicate second choices We r e s e r v e t h e r i g h t t o r e f u n d m o n e y i f i s s u e s requested are no longer available
q Vol II, No 7 June, 1979
q Vol II, No 10 September, 1979
q Vol III, No 4 March, 1980
q Vol III, No 5 April, 1980
q Vol III, No 6 May, 1980
q Vol. III, No. 9 August, 1980
q Vol III, No 10 September, 1980
q Vol. III, No. 12 November, 1980
q Vol IV, No 5 April, 1981
q Vol. IV, No. 6 May, 1981
q Vol IV, No 7 June, 1981
q Vol. IV, No. 9 August, 1981
q Vol IV, No 10 September, 1981
q Vol. IV, No. 11 October, 1981
q Vol V, No 2 January, 1982
q Vol. V, No. 3 February, 1982
q Vol V, No 6 May, 1982
q Vol V, No 11 October, 1982
q Vol V, No 12 November, 1982
q Vol VI, No 2 January, 1983
q Vol VI, No 5 April, 1983
q Vol VI, No 7 June, 1983
q Vol. VI, No. 9 August, 1983
q Vol VI, No 10 September, 1983
q Vol. VI, No. 11 October, 1983
q Vol VI, No 12 November, 1983
q Vol. VII, No. 5 April, 1984
q Vol VII, No 9 August, 1984
q Vol. VII, No. 10 September, 1984
q Vol VII, No 11 October, 1984
q Vol. VII, No. 12 November, 1984
q Vol VIII, No 2 January, 1985
q Vol. VIII, No. 4 March, 1985
q Vol VIII, No 6 May, 1985
q Vol VIII, No 7 June, 1985
q Vol VIII, No 8 July, 1985
q Vol VIII, No 10 September, 1985
q Vol IX, No 5 April, 1986
q Vol IX, No 6 May, 1986
q Vol. IX, No. 8 July, 1986
q Vol IX, No 9 August, 1986
q Vol. IX, No. 10 September, 1986
q Vol IX, No 12 November, 1986
q Vol. X, No. 2 January, 1987
q Vol X, No 4 March, 1987
q Vol. X, No. 5 April, 1987
q Vol X, No 6 May, 1987
q Vol. X, No. 9 August, 1987
q Vol XI, No 2 January, 1988
q Vol XI, No 3 February, 1988
q Vol XI, No 4 March, 1988
q Vol XI, No 5 April, 1988
q Vol XI, No 6 May, 1988
q Vol XI, No 11 October, 1988
q Vol. XI, No. 12 November, 1988
q Vol XII, No 2 January, 1989
q Vol. XII, No. 3 February, 1989
q Vol XII, No 4 March, 1989
q Vol. XII, No. 5 April, 1989
q Vol XII, No 6 May, 1989
q Vol. XII, No. 7 June, 1989
q Vol XII, No 10 September, 1989
q Vol. XII, No. 11 October, 1989
q Vol XIII, No 2 January, 1990
q Vol. XIII, No. 4 March, 1990
q Vol XIII, No 6 May, 1990
q Vol XIII, No 5 April, 1990
q Vol XIII, No 7 June, 1990
q Vol XIII, No 8 July, 1990
q Vol XIII, No 10 September, 1990
q Vol XIV, No 2 January, 1991
q Vol. XIV, No. 4 March, 1991
q Vol XIV, No 7 June, 1991
q Vol. XIV, No. 10 September, 1991
q Vol XIV, No 11 October, 1991
q Vol XIV, No 12 November, 1991
q Vol XV, No 2 January, 1992
q Vol XV, No 3 February, 1992
q Vol. XV, No. 4 March, 1992
q Vol XV, No 6 May, 1992
q Vol. XV, No. 7 June, 1992
q Vol XV, No 8 July, 1992
q Vol. XV, No. 9 August, 1992
q Vol XV, No 10 September, 1992
q Vol. XVI, No. 7 June, 1993
q Vol XVI, No 11 October, 1993
q Vol. XVI, No. 12 November, 1993
q Vol XVII, No 2 January, 1994
q Vol. XVII, No. 3 February, 1994
q Vol XVII, No 4 March, 1994
q Vol XVII, No 6 May, 1994
q Vol XVII, No 7 June, 1994
q Vol XVII, No 10 September, 1994
q Vol XVII, No 11 October, 1994
q Vol XVII, No 12 November, 1994
q Vol. XVIII, No. 2 January, 1995
q Vol XVIII, No 3 February, 1995
q Vol. XVIII, No. 4 March, 1995
q Vol XVIII, No 6 May, 1995
q Vol. XVIII, No. 7 June, 1995
q Vol XVIII, No 8 July, 1995
q Vol. XIX, No. 2 January, 1996
q Vol XIX, No 3 February, 1996
q Vol. XIX, No. 4 March, 1996
q Vol XIX, No 8 July, 1996
q Vol. XIX, No. 11 October, 1996
q Vol XIX, No 12 November, 1996
q Vol XX, No 2 January, 1997
q Vol XX, No 5 April, 1997
q Vol XX, No 6 May, 1997
q Vol XX, No 6 May, 1997
q Vol XX, No 7 June, 1997
q Vol. XX, No. 8 July, 1997
q Vol XX, No 9 August, 1997
q Vol. XX, No. 10 September, 1997
q Vol XX, No 12 November, 1997
q Vol. XXI, No. 2 January, 1998
q Vol XXI, No 3 February,
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q Vol XXIV, No 3 February, 2001
q Vol. XXIV, No.4 March, 2001
q Vol XXIV, No 5 April, 2001
q Vol. XXIV, No.6 May, 2001
q Vol XXIV, No 7 June, 2001
q Vol. XXIV, No.9 August, 2001
q Vol XXIV, No 10 September, 2001
q Vol XXIV, No 11 October, 2001
q Vol XXIV, No 12 November, 2001
q Vol. XXV, No. 2 January, 2002
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q Vol XXVII, No 8 July, 2004
q Vol. XXVII, No. 9 August, 2004
q Vol. XXVII, No. 10 September, 2004
q Vol XXVII, No 11 October, 2004
q Vol XXVII, No 12 November, 2004
q Vol XXVIII, No 2 January, 2005
q Vol XXVIII, No 3 February, 2005
q Vol. XXVIII, No. 4 March, 2005
q Vol. XXVIII, No. 5 April, 2005
q Vol XXVIII, No 6 May, 2005
q Vol XXVIII, No 7 June, 2005
q Vol XXVIII, No 9 August, 2005
q Vol XXVIII, No 10 September, 2005
q Vol. XXVIII, No. 11 October, 2005
q Vol. XXVIII, No. 12 November, 2005
q Vol. XXVIV, No. 2 January, 2006
q Vol XXVIV, No 3 February, 2006
q Vol XXVIV, No 4 March, 2006
q Vol XXVIV, No 5 April, 2006
q Vol XXVIV, No 6 May, 2006
q Vol. XXVIV, No. 7 June, 2006
q Vol. XXVIV, No. 8 July, 2006
q Vol XXVIV, No 9 August, 2006
q Vol XXVIV, No 10 September, 2006
q Vol XXVIV, No 11 October, 2006
q Vol XXVIV, No 12 November, 2006
q Vol. XXX, No. 1 December, 2006
q Vol. XXX, No. 2 January, 2007
q Vol XXX, No 3 February, 2007
q Vol XXX, No 4 March, 2007
q Vol XXX, No 5 April, 2007
q Vol XXX, No 6 May, 2007
q Vol. XXX, No. 7 June, 2007
q Vol. XXX, No. 8 July, 2007
q Vol XXX, No 9 August, 2007
q Vol XXX, No 10 September, 2007
q Vol XXX No 11 October, 2007
q Vol XXX, No 12 November, 2007
q Vol. XXXI, No. 1 December, 2007
q Vol. XXXI, No. 2 January, 2008
q Vol XXXI, No 3 February, 2008
q Vol XXXI, No 4 March, 2008
q Vol XXXI, No 5 April, 2008
q Vol XXXI, No 6 May, 2008
q Vol. XXXI, No. 7 June, 2008
q Vol. XXXI, No. 8 July, 2008
q Vol. XXXI, No. 9 August, 2008
q Vol XXXI, No 10 September, 2008
q Vol XXXI, No 11 October, 2008
q Vol XXXI, No 12 November, 2008
q Vol XXXII, No 1 December, 2008
q Vol. XXXII, No. 2 January, 2009
q Vol. XXXII, No. 3 February, 2009
q Vol XXXII, No 4 March, 2009
q Vol XXXII, No 5 April, 2009
q Vol XXXII, No 6 May, 2009
q Vol XXXII, No 7 June, 2009
q Vol. XXXII, No. 8 July, 2009
q Vol. XXXII, No. 9 August, 2009
q Vol XXXII, No 10 September, 2009
q Vol XXXII, No 11 October, 2009
q Vol XXXII, No 12 November, 2009
q Vol XXXIII, No 1 December, 2009
q Vol. XXXIII, No. 2 January, 2010
q Vol. XXXIII, No. 3 February, 2010
q Vol XXXIII, No 4 March, 2010
q Vol XXXIII, No 5 April, 2010
q Vol XXXIII, No 6 May, 2010
q Vol XXXIII, No 7 June, 2010
q Vol XXXIII, No 8 July, 2010
q Vol. XXXIII, No. 9 August, 2010
q Vol XXXIII, No 10 September, 2010
q Vol. XXXIII, No. 11 October, 2010
q Vol XXXIII, No 12 November, 2010
q Vol. XXXIV, No. 1 December, 2010
q Vol XXXIV, No 2 January, 2011
q Vol. XXXIV, No. 3 February, 2011
q Vol XXXIV, No 4 March, 2011
q Vol. XXXIV, No. 5 April, 2011
q Vol XXXIV, No 6 May, 2011
q Vol XXXIV, No 7 June, 2011
q Vol XXXIV, No 8 July, 2011
q Vol XXXIV, No 9 August, 2011
q Vol XXXIV, No 10 September, 2011
q Vol XXXIV, No 11 October, 2011
q Vol. XXXIV, No. 12 November, 2011
q Vol XXXV, No 1 December, 2011
q Vol. XXXV, No. 2 January, 2012
q Vol XXXV, No 3 February, 2012
q Vol. XXXV, No. 4 March, 2012
q Vol XXXV, No 5 April, 2012
q Vol. XXXV, No. 6 May, 2012
q Vol XXXV, No 7 June, 2012
q Vol. XXXV, No. 8 July, 2012
q Vol XXXV, No 9 August, 2012
q Vol. XXXV, No. 10 September, 2012
q Vol XXXV, No 11 October, 2012
q Vol XXXV, No 12 November, 2012
q Vol XXXVI, No 1 December, 2012
q Vol XXXVI, No 2 January, 2013
q Vol XXXVI, No 3 February, 2013
q Vol XXXVI, No 4 March, 2013
q Vol XXXVI, No 5 April, 2013
q Vol XXXVI, No 6 May, 2013
q Vol XXXVI, No 7 June, 2013
q Vol. XXXVI, No. 8 July, 2013
q Vol XXXVI, No 9 August, 2013
q Vol. XXXVI, No. 10 September, 2013
q Vol XXXVI, No 11 October, 2013
q Vol. XXXVI, No. 12 November, 2013
q Vol XXXVII, No 1 December, 2013
q Vol. XXXVII, No. 2 January, 2014
q Vol XXXVII, No 3 February, 2014
q Vol. XXXVII, No. 4 March, 2014
q Vol XXXVII, No 5 April, 2014
q Vol. XXXVII, No. 6 May, 2014
q Vol XXXVII, No 7 June, 2014
q Vol XXXVII, No 8 July, 2014
q Vol XXXVII, No 9 August, 2014
q Vol XXXVII, No 10 September, 2014
q Vol XXXVII, No 11 October, 2014
q Vol XXXVII, No 12 November, 2014
q Vol. XXXVIII, No. 1 December, 2014
q Vol XXXVIII, No 2 January, 2015
q Vol. XXXVIII, No. 3 February, 2015
q Vol XXXVIII, No 4 March, 2015
q Vol. XXXVIII, No. 5 April, 2015
q Vol XXXVIII, No 6 May, 2015
q Vol. XXXVIII, No. 7 June, 2015
q Vol XXXVIII, No 8 July, 2015
q Vol. XXXVIII, No. 9 August, 2015
q Vol XXXVIII, No 10 September, 2015
q Vol. XXXVIII, No. 11 October, 2015
q Vol XXXVIII, No 12 November, 2015
q Vol XXXIX, No 1 December, 2015
q Vol XXXIX, No 2 January, 2016
q Vol XXXIX, No 3 February, 2016
q Vol XXXIX, No 4 March, 2016
q Vol XXXIX, No 5 April, 2016
q Vol. XXXIX, No. 6 May, 2016
q Vol XXXIX, No 7 June, 2016
q Vol. XXXIX, No. 8 July, 2016
q Vol XXXIX, No 9 August, 2016
q Vol. XXXIX, No. 10 September, 2016
q Vol XXXIX, No 11 October, 2016
q Vol. XXXIX, No. 12 November, 2016
q Vol XL, No 1 December, 2016
q Vol. XL, No. 2 January, 2017
q Vol XL, No 3 February, 2017
q Vol XL, No 4 March, 2017
q Vol XXXX, No 5 April, 2017
q Vol XXXX, No 6 May, 2017
• UMA Motorcoach Expo in St Louis
• The Prize-Winning Aerocoach at the Museum of Bus Transportation
• Rochester City Lines Still Making, Preserving and Celebrating History
q Vol XXXX, No 7 June, 2017
• Industry History From UMA Shows – Installment I
• Extended Service Protection on Your Bus Fleet
• Bus History on a Wall
q Vol XXXX, No 8 July, 2017
• Vicinity – A Mid-Size Bus Success Story
• Prevost Conversion Shells for All Types of Coaches
• The Bus Accident in Red Lion, Delaware
q Vol XXXX, No 9 August, 2017
• “J” is for Jackpot with the 2018 J4500
• Industry History from UMA Shows – Installment II
• Book Review
q Vol XXXX, No 10 September, 2017
• Propane Continues to be Clean and Economical
• H&L Charter – The Best Comes in Small Packages
• Industry History from UMA Shows – Installment III
q Vol XXXX, No 11 October, 2017
• ABC & Van Hool Celebrate 30 Years
• Taking a Venture in Norfolk
•The Five “No’s” You Must Overcome to Sell Your Bus Business
q Vol. XXXX, No. 12 November, 2017
• MCI Reliability Rally 2017
• BusCon 2017 in Indianapolis
• Exit Planning Becoming More Complicated for Family-Owned Bus Businesses
q Vol XXXXI, No 1 December, 2017
• Complete Coach Works and the Carson Heritage
• The Busboys Vintage Bus Rally in Evansville, Indiana
• Virginia’s Commonwealth Coach and Trolley Museum Ravaged by Fire
• Re-Energizing the North American Diecast Model Bus Scene
q Vol XXXXI, No 2 January, 2018
• Prevost Again Moves Ahead in Support, Service and Parts
• New 2018 J4500 Highlights Busy Season for MCI
• Common Rail Technology and the GHG17 Volvo Engine
q Vol XXXXI, No 3 February, 2018
• Walking the Irizar Assembly Line in Ormaiztegi
• Busworld 2017 in Belgium
q Vol XXXXI, No 4 March, 2018
• UMA Motorcoach Expo 2018i
• Van Hool to Build Buses in Eastern Tennessee
• The New MCI D45 CRT LE
q Vol XXXXI, No 5 April, 2018
• Charging Ahead with Electric Buses
• Holiday Tours Puts Customers First
• How Chicago’s “Party Bus” Ordinance is Affecting Bus Tourism
q Vol. XXXXI, No. 6 May, 2018
• The CHTC HT45 amd HT35 Coaches
• The Pacific Bus Museum – From Hobby to Formal Museum
• Twenty Tips on Hiring Bus Drivers
• Van Hool Builds Bus Factoryin Morristown, Tennessee
q Vol XXXXI, No 7 June, 2018
• MCI Academy Wins Fans Across Industry
• Where are the Buses Built? #1
• The Campaign Bus for the President of the Philippines
• The Penn Highway Transit Company
q Vol. XXXXI, No. 8 July, 2018
• Farber Continues Custom Coach Traditions
• Prevost’s New Flat Floor Slide-Outs
• Liberty Coach Busch Bus
q Vol. XXXXI, No. 9 August, 2018
• ZF Components for Electric Buses
• Museum of Bus Transportation Spring Fling Open House Success
• “Friends” of the NJ Heritage Center Takes Eight Vintage Coaches to the 2018 MOBT Spring Fling
q Vol XXXXI, No 10 September, 2018
• Van Hool’s CX35 – Small in Size, Big in Quality
• Diecast Model Buses Impress in a Big Way
• Master ’s Transportation – Where to go to increase your fleet quickly or temporarily
q Vol. XXXXI, No. 11 October, 2018
• ZF Technology Day in Friedrichshafen
• MCI’s 2018 Reliability Rally
• How Will Autonomous Cars Impact the Bus Industry?
q Vol XXXXI, No 12 November, 2018
• Peter Pan Celebrates 85 Years on the Road
• Clean Up Your Fleet with a Bitimec Wash-Bot
q Vol XXXXII, No 1 December, 2018
• Prevost Unveils New Features and New Possibility on the Volvo 9700 at UMA Expo
• MCI’s New J3500 – Small in Size, Big in Features
• The e GO Mover – Filling a Gap in Transportation with ZF Technology
• Giving Buses a Second Life at Complete Coach Works
q Vol. XXXXII, No. 2 January, 2019
• BusCon 2018 in Indianapolis
• Panorama Tours Keeps Things in the Family
• How Will Demand or Congestion Toll Pricing Impact Bus Operations?
q Vol XXXXII, No 3 February, 2019
• Test Driving the New Electric MCI J4500e CHARGE
• Stagecoach Group Sells Coach USA and Coach Canada
• The Story of the Australian Scenicruiser
q Vol XXXXII, No 4 March, 2019
• UMA 2019 Motorcoach Expo in Fort Lauderdale
• Angel Tours Celebrates 20 Years
• The Saga of #5496, a 1937 Yellow Coach Model 733
q Vol XXXXII, No 5 April, 2019
• Buses at the 2019 ABA Marketplace in Louisville
• Are Pre-Owned Coach Sales Declining?
• The Six Levels of Autonomous Vehicles
q Vol XXXXII, No 6 May, 2019
• Temsa North America Inc – Temsa’s Increased Support for the American Market
• MCI Launches Motorcoach Technician Apprenticeship Program
• 2019 Spring Fling Announced
q Vol XXXXII, No 7 June, 2019
• Looking Beyond the Driver Shortage to Demography and the Global Economy
• Are the Reasons for Coach Seat Belts Changing?
• The Passengers Left Behind – Take the Accessible Information Test
q Vol XXXXII, No 8 July, 2019
• Prevost Motorhome Expo
• Featherlite Luxury Coaches
• Emerald Luxury Coaches Unveils First H3-45 Conversions
• Ten Things to Consider When Choosing a Luxury RV
q Vol. XXXXII, No. 9 August, 2019
• NFI Group Acquires Alexander Dennis
• Getting the Glow – Take a look inside the “New Look” of Liberty
• Book Review – Chicago Motor Coach
q Vol XXXXII, No 10 September, 2019
• The 2019 Spring Fling in Hershey
• Congestion Pricing May Affect Bus Operators
• In the Beginning – The Bus Industry Prior to Regulation in 1935
q Vol XXXXII, No 11 October, 2019
• Proterra Launches Proterra Powered™ Vehicle Electrification Solutions for Commercial Fleets
• Bendix Tech Tips: Avoiding the “Gotchas”
• The “Shorty” Flxibles of Pikes Peak
q Vol. XXXXII, No. 12 November, 2019
• 30 Years of Foxy Travel & FTI Coach
• Fleet Graphics is an Art at ABC Companies
• MCI debuts 2020 model line-up with a SNEAK PREVIEW of the battery-electric D45 CRTe LE CHARGE at Bay Area Reliability Symposium on October 1
q Vol XXXXIII, No 1 December, 2019
• Temsa’s Redesigned TS 30
• BusCon 2019 in Indianapolis
• Hammond Transportation
q Vol XXXXIII, No 2 January, 2020
• Anchor Transportation – 30 Years and Counting in a Growing Nashville
• David Thomas Tours and Their Short Temsa Coaches
• Museum of Bus Transportation to Merge with Antique Automobile Club of America Museum
q Vol XXXXIII, No 3 February, 2020
• Busworld 2019 in Brussels, Part I
• Heroes’ Honeymoon
• Philadelphia to New York Every Half Hour
q Vol XXXXIII, No 4 March, 2020
• Busworld 2019 in Brussels, Part II
• The Changing Bus Industry
q Vol XXXXIII, No 5 April, 2020
• ABA Marketplace 2020 in Omaha
• Procedure and Liability After a Collision with an Automated Vehicle
• Impaired Drivers
q Vol. XXXXIII, No. 6 May, 2020
• Bringing Back the Bus Industry
• Bus Industry Suggestions from Shriver Insurance
• What Can Bus Companies Do To Reduce Insurance Costs During COVID-19?
• UMA Motorcoach Expo 2020 in Nashville
• Bus Preservation After the Merger
q Vol XXXXIII, No 7 June, 2020
• Grants, Loans and Programs to Help Transportation Companies Survive COVID-19 Business Disruption
• Time to Think Tours
• Motorcoaches Rolling for Awareness
q Vol XXXXIII, No 8 July, 2020
• What the IATR and Transportation Regulators are Doing to Respond to the COVID-19 Pandemic
• A Tribute to Kirwan Elmers and Custom Coach Corporation
• RiverLandings Motorcoach Resort, Where True Luxury Reaches New Heights
q Vol. XXXXIII, No. 9 August, 2020
• The Evolving MCI Product Line
• The Impact of COVID-19 on the Transportation Ecosystem
• Marijuana and Drivers
q Vol XXXXIII, No 10 September, 2020
• New Coach Review
• Seven Simple Steps to Show Your Customers You Are Open for Business
• Can Bus Operators Change to Survive?
q Vol XXXXIII, No 11 October, 2020
• Getting People Back on the Buses
• 10 Easy Ways to Update Your Web Site During COVID-19
• Didn’t See That Coming
• The Eucharistic Congress in Chicago
q Vol XXXXIII, No 12 November, 2020
• How Temsa Developed Their Programmable Electric Bus
• Can Bus Companies Get to and Survive in the “New Normal?”
• Talk’s Cheap – Let’s Play
q Vol XXXXIV, No 1 December, 2020
• Keolis Moves People
• Are Mergers the Answer?
• A Lesson from the Sea – Time to Choose a Strategy
• Now is Not the Time to Skip on Bus Maintenance
• The Small Business Reorganization Act – A New Option in Bankruptcy
Classified ad rate is $30 per issue for first 25 words, 25 cents for each additional word. Rate includes Internet access. Name, address, zip and phone number are not included in word count The total number of words in a classified ad can not exceed 70 Rates apply on each ad individually – the rate for multiple insertions is the total of each ad figured individually. Free classified ads are acceptable ONLY when submitted on or with your free classified ad certificate. Display advertising rates on request.
1 – BUSES WANTED seeking 102d3 converted by Custom Coach Prefer motor home interior with side aisle or semi-side aisle
Please provide details by e-mail to safety@busmag com or phone larry at (815) 946-2341
6 – MOTOR HOMES FOR SALE
MCi MC5a ’67 (shell) 8V-71, 4-speed For sale to highest bidder Call (928) 358-6415 or (505) 713-9242 in aZ I
1991 Hawkins motorcoach 3208t Cat, 35 ft with all awnings alcoa wheels, landing/docking lights, heated m i r r o r s , d u c t e d h e a t , l e v e l e r s , t w o a i r c o n d i t i o n e r s , propane generator, exhaust brake always stored indoors asking $15,000 Contact dallas in Mi at (269) 591-2564 I
1956 Flxible coach – old conversion Phone (802) 9482886 in Vt for details I
Please mention National Bus Trader when answering adver tisers
10 – PARTS AND EQUIPMENT
6V-92t detroit diesel engine Fresh overhaul in storage spent $4,700 Make offer Phone (815) 262-0587 in il
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The next. The future. It’s here, now. The All-New H3-45.
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